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Etymology and origin of the Hungarian word mindig

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1659 letter of Árva Bornemisza Sára to Mihály Teleki
Ultimate origin
Hungarian mind,-ig

Pronunciation

  • [ˈmindiɡ], [ˈmindiːɡ][1]

Forms

mindig[1] The common and dialect form is mindég; regional variants include méndég, mindé, mindéglen and mitig.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is from Hungarian mind (“always”) + -ig, a case form fixed as a word: mind was an adverb “always” from 1552, and ⟨-ig⟩ (older ⟨-ég⟩) is the terminative ending, as in addig and meddig.[2][3][4][1] The ending's older shape explains the form mindég.[5] TESz finds a derivation from the compound mindéltig ~ mindétig unlikely.[2]

Once the new word was established, the adverb gradually lost the sense “always”.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

TESz and ÚESz date the first record to Bessenyei's Ágis of 1772, minddég “constantly, for ever”.[2][3] The EMSzT has mindég earlier, in a letter of 1659 from Árva Bornemisza Sára to Mihály Teleki, where it means “all the time”.[6]

Semantic evolution

“On every occasion” is recorded from 1776 (Kazinczy, mindég), and “ever more, increasingly”, with a comparative, from 1793.[2][3] The spelling mindig first appears in 1803, while mindég remained the common form of speech and of most dialects.[2][3][7][8] In Szamoshát speech it is also an intensifier, “surely, certainly”.[9]

Timeline

  • 1659 – mindég “all the time” in a Transylvanian letter.[6]
  • 1772 – minddég “for ever” in Bessenyei's Ágis.[2][3]
  • 1776 – mindég “every time” in Kazinczy.[2][3]
  • 1793 – “ever more” with a comparative.[2][3]
  • 1803 – the spelling mindig.[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. always, at all times; for one's whole life, or from a past time until now.[7][1]
  2. constantly, without a break: Mindig esik az eső.[7]
  3. Every time, on every occasion: Mindig késik.[7]
  4. Very often, usually.[7]
  5. (with a comparative) Ever more, increasingly; the same as egyre.[7][2]
  6. (with a comparative) Still, in spite of everything: Ez mindig jobb a semminél.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 928
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  4. ^ a b Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  5. ^ Czuczor, Gergely; Fogarasi, János (1862–1874), A magyar nyelv szótára, 6 vols., Pest: Emich Gusztáv / Athenaeum
  6. ^ a b Szabó T., Attila (ed.) (1975–2014), Erdélyi magyar szótörténeti tár, 14 vols., Bukarest: Kriterion / Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Kolozsvár: Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
  8. ^ Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 159
  9. ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, p. 2, 132
Cite this entry

“Mindig.” Etymologically, 25 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/hu/mindig. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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