srác

Forms

srác (plural srácok)^[1]

Etymology

It is a loan from Yiddish, probably also through German argot.^[2][3][4] The sources quote the Yiddish word for “child” in German transcription as ⟨schraz⟩ and ⟨sch'raz⟩, and compare German schratz and schraatze of German thieves' argot and Viennese argot ⟨schraz⟩, with the same meaning.^[2][3][5] The Yiddish word goes back to the plural of Biblical Hebrew שֶׁרֶץ (šereṣ, “creeping thing”), transcribed ⟨šᵉrāṣīm⟩ and meaning “worms; swarm; children”.^[3][2][1] TESz rejects a Slavic derivation.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1888, spelt Schrátz, in Berkes's book on the slang of thieves, glossed “child (thieving child)”; the sense is “little rascal, young crook”.^[2][3] The spelling Srác follows in a thieves' glossary of 1900.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the sense “street urchin, little crook” of 1888 it came to mean “boy, lad” in general by 1917.^[2][3] The ÉrtSz of the 1960s still labelled it argot; today it is a word of familiar speech, used also of grown men among friends.^[6][4]

Timeline

• 1888 – Schrátz “little rascal” in a book on thieves' slang.^[2][3]
• 1900 – Srác in a thieves' glossary.^[2]
• 1917 – “boy, lad”.^[2][3]
• 1926 – Srac in Kálnay and Benkes's thieves' glossary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (colloquial) A boy, a kid: a child below the age of puberty.^[6][1]
2. (colloquial) A lad, a guy: a man, usually one the speaker is on friendly terms with: Jó srác az új kolléga.^[6]
3. (dated slang) A street urchin, a young rascal.^[2]

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 Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1398
6. ^ a b c Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu