vég

Forms

vég (countable and uncountable, plural végek)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain: TESz, EWUng, ÚESz and Zaicz consider it perhaps inherited from Proto-Uralic *wiŋe (“end”), a word of the Finno-Ugric period.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} The comparison rests on Finnish viime (“last; lately”), viimeinen (“last”) and Estonian viimane (“last”), in which ⟨-me⟩ and ⟨-mane⟩ are suffixes; the original sense would have been “end of something”.^[2][4][6] Because the cognates come from only two distantly related languages, the explanation is uncertain.^[4][5]

A Finno-Ugric /ŋ/ inside the word would give Hungarian /g/, as in ég and jég,^[3][4] but TESz finds the final ⟨g⟩ not satisfactorily explained, and the MSzFE accepts the comparison only if the consonant was /ŋ/, which could have become /g/ through Ugric */ŋk/.^[2][7] The Sami adverb Northern Sami viimâg (“at last”) that is sometimes added is a loan from Finnish.^[7]

Bárczi, after older literature, compared Komi-Zyrian vyi (“border, measure”);^[8] the MSzFE rejects this, because a Komi /i/ cannot correspond to Hungarian /é/ and Finnish /ii/.^[7] TESz also rejects other Finno-Ugric and Uralic comparisons and a Turkic origin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the founding charter of the Tihany Abbey of 1055, whose Latin text contains Hungarian place descriptions; there uuege, “its end”, has the spatial sense “end, edge, border”.^[2][4] Place names with the word follow from 1193.^[4]

Semantic evolution

TESz takes the spatial “end, edge” as the original sense.^[2] The adjective “final, last”, recorded from 1193, comes from the attributive use of the noun.^[2][4] From the spatial sense came the end of a period or of an action (in the Vienna Codex, about 1450), and, by transfer, “purpose” and “death” (both about 1456), and later “manner, measure” (1598) and “condition” (1693).^[2] In the Ottoman period the plural végek meant the border regions of Hungary facing the Ottoman Empire, with their fortresses (from about 1535).^[2][4] The postposition végett “for the sake of, because of” is the word in its sense “purpose” with the old locative suffix -t (1563).^[2]

The sense “bolt of cloth”, recorded from 1362–1365, is according to TESz the end of a fabric extended to the whole length of fabric from its beginning to its end; the sense “part” may have grown from it.^[2] EWUng and ÚESz also call it a Hungarian development, but leave its semantic background unexplained.^[3][4] The Besztercei word list of about 1395 glosses Latin pecia “piece” with veg poztow, a bolt of broadcloth, and the Schlägl list of about 1405 with veg.^[9][10] In trade a vég became a unit of rolled fabric whose length varied with the cloth, from 20 to 40 metres; a bolt of purpián bought for the Nádasdy family in 1557 measured 47 Vienna ells, about 36 metres.^[11][12]

Both senses were borrowed as Romanian vig: “bolt of cloth” is found in the Slavonic documents of the Romanian lands from 1422 and was known in the whole Romanian area until the 17th century, and “end” from the middle of the 17th century, in phrases such as “to carry to the end”.^{[13][14][15][16]} The word Serbo-Croatian vig is also from Hungarian.^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1055 – uuege “its end” in the Tihany founding charter.^[2][4]
• 1193 – the adjective “final, last”.^[2][4]
• 1362–1365 – “bolt of woven cloth”.^[2][4]
• c. 1395 – veg poztow “bolt of broadcloth” in the Besztercei word list.^[9]
• 1422 – Romanian vig “bolt of cloth” in a Slavonic document.^[13]
• c. 1450 – véget “end (of time, of an action)” in the Vienna Codex (copy of a text written after 1416).^[2][4]
• c. 1456 – “purpose” and “death” in the Sermones Dominicales.^[2]
• c. 1535 – végek “the border regions facing the Ottoman Empire”.^[2][4]
• 1563 – the postposition végett.^[2]
• 1598 – “manner, measure”.^[2]
• 1648 – Romanian vig “end”.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. end: the point or line where something stops lengthwise, and the part near it.^[12][1]
2. The end of a village; a part of a village.^[12]
3. The farthest point of a journey; the rear of a moving group or vehicle.^[12]
4. (historical, in the plural) The border regions of Hungary facing the Ottoman Empire, and the fortresses defending them.^[12]
5. The end of a period of time, and its last part.^[12]
6. The end of a process, event or state: vége van “it is over”; the closing part of a speech or text.^[12][1]
7. The outcome or consequence of something.^[12]
8. The ruin of someone or something; the end of life, death.^[12]
9. (dated) purpose: mi végre? “for what purpose?”^[12]
10. (commerce) A bolt of cloth: a rolled length of woven fabric of a fixed size, 20 to 40 metres according to the kind; also such a roll itself.^[12][1]

Adjective

1. (dated) Final, last.^[12]
2. (historical) Lying on the border, in the border regions.^[12]

Word family

• véges
• végez
• végezet
• végleg
• végtelen
• végzet
• végett
• végig
• végső

Usage notes

The ÉrtSz gives the cloth sense a headword of its own, with the possessive végje beside vége of the other senses;^[12][2][4] TESz and ÚESz treat both as one word.^[12][2][4] Dialects have the forms víg and vig.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 1104
3. ^ a b c d Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1655
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 Rédei, Károly (ed.) (1986–1991), Uralisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz; online as Uralonet, uralonet.nytud.hu
7. ^ a b c d Lakó, György (ed.) (1967–1978), A magyar szókészlet finnugor elemei, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 3, 679
8. ^ Bárczi, Géza (1941), Magyar szófejtő szótár, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, p. 179
9. ^ a b Berrár, Jolán; Károly, Sándor (1984), Régi magyar glosszárium: szótárak, szójegyzékek és glosszák egyesített szótára, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 755
10. ^ Szamota, István (1894), A schlägli magyar szójegyzék a XV. század első negyedéből, Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, p. 57
11. ^ Kiss, Lajos (1976), Szláv tükörszók és tükörjelentések a magyarban, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó (Nyelvtudományi Értekezések 92), p. 205
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
13. ^ a b c Tamás, Lajos (1966), Etymologisch-historisches Wörterbuch der ungarischen Elemente im Rumänischen, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 853
14. ^ Treml, Lajos (1928–1929), Die ungarischen Lehnwörter im Rumänischen I–II, Ungarische Jahrbücher 8: 25–51; 9: 274–317, p. 9, 298
15. ^ Alexics, György (1888), Magyar elemek az oláh nyelvben, Budapest, p. 107
16. ^ Valló, Ida; Stan, Constantin et al. (1905), Kölcsönös hatások a hazai nyelvek közt, Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, p. 49