Etymologically
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sem

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Pronunciation

Forms

sem[1] The shorter form se is common in speech; older and dialect forms include sim (1545), sém (1718) and sën.[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is from Hungarian is (“also, even”) + nem (“not”): the emphatic particle ës, a variant of is and the same word as és and s, grew together with the negative nem in the sentence.[3][2][4][5] Wiktionary calls it a blend.[1] The older, still separate phrase is Old Hungarian es num (“not even”) in the Funeral Sermon and Prayer of about 1195.[3][2]

TESz explains the fusion by the two parts being spoken with equal stress, so that the boundary in the sentence shifted (ës nem > *ësnem); the present form then came about by the shortening usual in grammatical words, with the loss of the inner ⟨n⟩.[3][2] The sources compare Latin neque (“and not, nor”), from ne (“not”) and -que (“and”).[3][2][4]

It was first an emphatic negative word and became a conjunction when it negated paired or parallel parts of a sentence.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fused word first appears in the Jókai Codex, copied about 1448 from a translation made after 1372, in semegy “not one” (sem egy): no friar in the garden should eat meat; the sense is “(also) not, not even”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The Jókai Codex already has the conjunction “and not, nor” and the paired sem … sem “neither … nor”.[3][2] A sense “than” (Zrínyi, 1651) arose in negative comparisons, from the conjunctions hogysem and mintsem.[3][2] The old combination és sem shows either assimilation or the particle used twice.[3]

The derivative semleges “neutral” is recorded from 1816 and was probably formed after Latin neuter (“neither of two”);[2][5][3] semlegesít “to neutralize” follows in 1838 and semlegesség “neutrality” in 1844.[2][5][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1195 – the separate phrase es num “not even” in the Funeral Sermon and Prayer.[3][2]
  • 1372–1448 – sem “not even”, “nor” and sem … sem “neither … nor” in the Jókai Codex.[3][2]
  • 1545 – the variant sim.[3][2]
  • 1651 – sem “than” in Zrínyi.[3][2]
  • 1816 – semleges “neutral”.[2]
  • 1844 – semlegesség “neutrality”.[3]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. neither, not either, nor; added after the word it negates: Én sem tudom.[6][1]
  2. not even; often with még: Még egy szót sem szólt.[6][1]
  3. sem …, sem …: neither … nor: Sem esik, sem fúj.[6][1]
  4. (archaic) than, in negative comparisons.[3]

Word family

  • semleges
  • semlegesít
  • semlegesség

Usage notes

The form se is used beside sem, most often in speech.[6][1] With another negative word sem does not cancel the negation: senki sem jött “nobody came”.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 514
  4. ^ a b Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  5. ^ a b c Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1360
  6. ^ a b c d e Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu