Tracing the impact of folk etymology on Hungarian surnames

• Authors: János N. Fodor , Kitti Hauber

Title variants

CS

Vliv lidové etymologie na vznik maďarských příjmení

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper presents the cases of folk etymology in the Hungarian family name stock. It deals with possibilities and difficulties in the interpretation of the term, as well as the differences in the use of the term between the traditional international and Hungarian linguistics. It also examines the issue of learned folk etymologies or naive etymologies as part of folk etymology with some examples from the 13th century. The paper argues that communal associations, analogies and approval play an essential role in folk etymological changes and this should be taken into consideration in the study of the phenomena. It presents examples of changes within the Hungarian language and of changes in interlingual connections throughout the latest centuries in the Carpathian Basin. Also, it introduces the case of hidden folk etymology with examples of name Magyarizations.

Keywords

EN

folk etymology; false etymology; hidden folk etymology; Hungarian surnames

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Czech Ethnological Society
• Journal: Národopisný věstník
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 63
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 397-409
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

János N. Fodor

• Acta onomastica, redakce, Ústav pro jazyk český AV ČR, v.v.i., Letenská 4, 118 51 Praha 1, Czech Republic

author

Kitti Hauber

• Acta onomastica, redakce, Ústav pro jazyk český AV ČR, v.v.i., Letenská 4, 118 51 Praha 1, Czech Republic