tesz

Forms

tesz^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Uralic *teke- (“to do, make”), a verb stem of the Finno-Ugric period, which Hungarian extended with the frequentative suffix -sz.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} TESz counts the whole verb as inherited; ÚESz and Zaicz describe it as an inherited stem with a Hungarian suffix, as in eszik and lesz.^[4][2][3] The stem's relatives are Erzya ťeje-, Moksha ťije-, Finnish tehdä and Northern Sami dâkkâ-; Mansi täj- (“to weave”) and Khanty tĕj- (“to knit (a net)”) may belong here too.^[2][3][1] The Mordvin verb also means both to do and to put, the same pair of senses as in Hungarian.^[5] Mordvin and Finnish nouns for work that were once compared do not belong here.^[5]

The verb belongs to the small group whose stem ends in /v/ and adds ⟨sz⟩ in some forms, with vesz, visz and hisz (tevő, tett).^[4] ÚESz takes the stem with /ë/ to be older than the one with /é/, though the correspondence with the cognates is then unusual.^[2] The old verb tekell (“to do; to decide”) is a derivative of the same stem with the frequentative suffix -kél.^[5]

The Finno-Ugric stem has been compared with Proto-Indo-European *dhe- (“to put, do”) (whence Latin faciō (“to make, do”)) and with a Mongolian verb meaning to load onto a cart; ÚESz and Zaicz list these as parallels, and TESz says they need further study.^[5][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

ÚESz takes a personal name of about 950, written τεβέλης in Greek letters, as the first trace of a derivative, and Zaicz marks it as uncertain;^[2][3][6] Tehel, a personal name in a charter of 1138 known from a copy of 1329, is another early derivative.^[2][3][6] As a verb it first appears in the Königsberg Fragment (teun) and in the Old Hungarian Lament of Mary, where Mary asks the Jews what they are doing so lawlessly: Sydou myth thez turuentelen.^[6][2] The sense there is “to do, act”.^[6][2] TESz dates the two texts about 1350 and about 1300; ÚESz to the early and the middle 13th century.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

TESz explains the wealth of senses and derivatives by the verb's being the oldest and most general Hungarian word for human activity, which in context can stand for almost any act, beside cselekszik and csinál.^[4][3] Many senses appear already in the codices: “to cause, bring about”, “to put, place” and the causative use with an infinitive (“to let, make someone do”) in the Jókai Codex;^[6][2] “to make into” something, “to create”, “to bear fruit” and “to fix a date” in the Vienna Codex.^[6][2] Preverbs early sharpened the meaning: betesz “to shut (a door)” in the Jókai Codex, letesz “to give up” and hozzátesz “to add (a remark)” in 1517, feltesz “to decide” in 1616.^[6][2] Later came “to amount to” and “to mean” (1527), teszi magát “to pretend” (1566), and in dialects “to bury” (with el-, 1873) and “to plant” (1881).^[6][2]

The derivatives are just as old: tehet “can do”, tetet “to have something done”, tét “deed” (from 1838 “stake”), tehetség “power, ability” and tétel “doing” (from 1708 “thesis, proposition”) are all in the Jókai Codex.^[7][3] Tétlen “idle” follows about 1560, tett “deed” in 1621, tevékeny “active” in 1647;^[7][3] tettes “perpetrator”, tettleg “by deed” and teendő “task” belong to the 1830s.^[7][3]

Szeged speech says tösz, and uses the verb also for “to mean” and “to amount to”: tűk ketten tösztök éggy embörszámot “you two together make one man”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 950 – τεβέλης, a personal name that may contain a derivative (uncertain).^[2][3]
• 1138 (copy of 1329) – Tehel, a personal name.^[6][2]
• 13th century – teun in the Königsberg Fragment and thez “you do” in the Old Hungarian Lament of Mary.^[2][6]
• after 1372 (copy of about 1448) – “to put, place”, “to cause”, and the derivatives tehet, tét, tehetség and tétel in the Jókai Codex.^[6][2][3]
• 1517 – letesz “to give up” and hozzátesz “to add”.^[2]
• 1527 – “to amount to” and “to mean”.^[2]
• 1566 – teszi magát “to pretend”.^[2]
• 1621 – tett “deed”.^[7][3]
• 1708 – tétel “thesis, proposition”.^[7][3]
• 1836 – teendő “task”.^[7][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To do, act, carry out something: Mit tegyek most?^[9][1]
2. To perform the act named by the object, which is itself a noun of action.^[9]
3. To cause, bring about an effect or state.^[9]
4. To make someone or something into something (with -vá/-vé): bolonddá tesz “to make a fool of”.^[9][1][8]
5. (intransitive) To see to it that something happens: Majd én teszek róla.^[9][1]
6. teszi magát: to pretend, put on an act.^[9]
7. To put, place, set somewhere: A kulcsot az asztalra tette.^[9][1]
8. To fix a date or time for an event.^[9]
9. To amount to, be equal to; to mean: nem tesz semmit “it doesn't matter”.^[9][8]
10. teszem (azt): let us say, for example.^[9]

Word family

• tehetetlen
• tehetős
• tehetség
• tett
• tevékeny
• tevés
• tevő
• tény
• tét
• tétel
• tétlen
• jótét
• tesz-vesz
• tettes
• teendő
• tevékenység

Related words

• Finnish tehdä

Usage notes

The verb is irregular: past tett, imperative tegyen, infinitive tenni, participle tevő; it is conjugated like vesz, lesz, visz, hisz, eszik and iszik.^[9][1][4] Many preverb compounds are verbs of their own: betesz, letesz, feltesz, hozzátesz.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 q r s t u v 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 Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
4. ^ a b c d e f Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 909
5. ^ a b c d e Lakó, György (ed.) (1967–1978), A magyar szókészlet finnugor elemei, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 629
6. ^ 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. 3, 907
7. ^ a b c d e f Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 908
8. ^ a b c Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 572
9. ^ 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