nos

Forms

Older spellings: no s, no's.^[2] Early records: nós (1793), Nus (1796), No 's (1808), nas (1817), Noss (1820).^[3]

Etymology

It is from Hungarian no (“come on, well”) + s (“and”), a compound of the interjection and the conjunction, a short form of és.^[3][4][5][1] The compound arose in sentences in which the interjection, urging the listener on, stood before a question that began with the conjunction; the boundary between the two sentences shifted, and the pair became one word.^[3][6][4]

From the question it introduced the word took over the sense of asking, which is its most characteristic use: curiosity, interest.^[3][5] Its other uses, urging someone to go on or to act, assent, an objection or a conclusion, keep something of the original interjection.^[3][4] As a filler word it has lost much of its own meaning.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1793, in a play quoted by the NSz: nós hát nem tetszene e' szép szerént meg szóllalni? “well then, would you not care to speak up nicely?”, where the word urges someone to speak.^[3][4] EWUng and ÚESz gloss the early use as “well, so, come on”.^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

TESz and ÚESz take the introduction of a question as the first use, and the interjection senses, encouragement, consent and the drawing of a conclusion, as growing out of it.^[4][3] Czuczor and Fogarasi explained nos mit láttál? as no és (azután) mit láttál? “well, and (then) what did you see?”.^[7] Kresznerics glossed it in 1831 with Latin quid tum “what then?”.^[8] Csokonai uses it to open a challenging question.^[9]

The ÉrtSz labels the word as belonging to elevated and literary language, and lists the old spellings no s and no's.^[2]

Timeline

• 1793 – nós, the first record, in a play.^[3][4]
• 1796 – Nus.^[3]
• 1808 – No 's.^[3]
• 1831 – nos in Kresznerics's dictionary, glossed “what then?”.^[8]
• 1862 – Czuczor and Fogarasi explain it as no + s.^[7]

Meanings

Interjection

1. well?, and then?: asks someone to go on with an interrupted story or to answer.^[2][1]
2. Opens a curious or interested question, without linking it to what went before: Nos, hogy vagy?^[2]
3. Opens a defiant or mocking question.^[2]
4. Expresses hesitation or thinking it over.^[2]
5. Urges someone to act or to hurry: Nos, indulunk?^[2]
6. Expresses consent or resignation.^[2]
7. Introduces an objection.^[2]
8. Introduces a conclusion: well then, so.^[2][1]
9. In a narrative, introduces something new to liven up the telling.^[2]

Related words

• no
• és

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 1022
4. ^ a b c d e f g Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
5. ^ a b Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
6. ^ a b Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1074
7. ^ a b Czuczor, Gergely; Fogarasi, János (1862–1874), A magyar nyelv szótára, 6 vols., Pest: Emich Gusztáv / Athenaeum
8. ^ a b Kresznerics, Ferenc (1831–1832), Magyar szótár gyökérrenddel és deák értelmezéssel, 2 vols., Buda, p. 2, 76
9. ^ Jakab, László et al. (1993–2019), Csokonai-szókincstár I–IV, Debrecen: Debreceni Egyetem (Számítógépes Nyelvtörténeti Adattár)