List of English words of Hungarian origin

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This is a partial list of known or supposed Hungarian loanwords in English:

biro
From László Bíró , the Hungarian inventor of the ballpoint pen. [1] Bíró originally means judge.
coach
From kocsi, a horse‐drawn wagon with springs above the axles. Named after the village of Kocs in which this type of vehicle was invented. The verb 'to coach' is also derived from this root. [2]
czardas
From csárdás, a Hungarian folk dance. Csárda also means 'tavern'.
Dobos torte or Dobosh
From Dobos torta, "Dobos cake". After confectioner József C. Dobos. Dobos originally means drummer.
fogas
[3] an Eastern European species of fish (Sander lucioperca), cf. zander.
forint
[4] the currency of Hungary since 1946 (also between 1325-1553 and 1750–1892). Originally derived from Italian "fiorino," name of the Florentine currency. Cognate with English "florin" (see also pengő).
friska
From friss, a fast section of music, often associated with czardas dances (cf. lassan). But the Hungarian friss comes from the German frisch, in general with the same meaning (fresh).
goulash
From gulyás, a type of stew known in Hungarian as gulyás. In Hungary, 'gulyásleves' is a soup dish; leves meaning soup. Gulyás also means 'herdsman' dealing with cattle, as the noun gulya is the Hungarian word for cattle herd. (This can cause confusion with native Hungarian speakers, as Hungarians generally understand unqualified "gulyás" to mean "gulyásleves", the soup, instead of referring to the international goulash as "pörkölt".)
hajduk
From hajdúk, "bandits" (plural of hajdú). Outlaw, guerilla fighter. The original Hungarian meaning was "cattle drover".
halászlé
or Fisherman's Soup, a very hot and spicy river fish soup with a lot of paprika. (The actual Hungarian halászlé is not always made with hot paprika, unlike the internationally known soup.)
hussar
From Hungarian huszár, a light cavalry soldier. The Hungarian word originally meant "freebooter" and was further derived via Old Serbian husar, gusar, gursar ("pirate") from Italian corsaro ("pirate"), i.e. the same root as that of English corsair . [5]
Itsy-bitsy
is sometimes linked to Hungarian ici-pici ("tiny") by popular sources, [6] [7] [8] but is regarded as an unrelated English formation by English dictionaries. [9]
komondor
A big Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog, looking like a big mop, always white.
kuvasz
A big Hungarian breed of shepherd dog, always white.
lassan
From lassú, "slowly". a slow section of music, often associated with czardas dances (cf. friska).
paprika
a spice produced from the ground, dried fruits of Capsicum annuum , a red pepper. Paprika in English refers to a powdered spice made of dried Capsicum of several sorts, though in Hungary it is the name of the fruit as well.
pengő
[10] the currency of Hungary between 1925 and 1946 (cf. forint).
puli
A small Hungarian breed of shepherd dog, also looking like a mop, usually black or white.
pusta or puszta
[11] From puszta, a kind of Hungarian steppe.
rezbanyite
[12] a mineral (consisting of lead, copper, and bismuth sulfide), named after Rézbánya ("copper mine")
sabre (UK) or saber (US)
From French (sabre, sable), ultimately from an unknown source in a language of Eastern origin, possibly through Hungarian szablya. [13]
shako or tsako
From csákó süveg, 'peaked cap', a stiff military hat with a high crown and plume. [14]
tokaji or tokay
[15] From tokaji aszú, the name of the wine from Tokaj, the centre of the local wine-growing district Tokaj-Hegyalja. [7]
vashegyite
[16] a mineral (hydrated basic aluminum phosphate), named after Vashegy ("iron mountain"), the old Hungarian name for the village of Železník, Slovakia where it was discovered. [16] [17]
verbunkos
a Hungarian men's folk dance and musical style (itself coming from German Werbung - meaning "military recruitment" here).[ citation needed ]
vizsla or vizla
From vizsla, a Hungarian breed of hunting dog.

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of British words not widely used in the United States. In Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and Australia, some of the British terms listed are used, although another usage is often preferred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goulash</span> Hungarian meat and vegetable stew

Goulash is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh rarebit</span> British dish of cheese sauce on toast

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Many languages have words expressing indefinite and fictitious numbers—inexact terms of indefinite size, used for comic effect, for exaggeration, as placeholder names, or when precision is unnecessary or undesirable. One technical term for such words is "non-numerical vague quantifier". Such words designed to indicate large quantities can be called "indefinite hyperbolic numerals".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cur</span> Dog type

A cur was a dog breed used by cattle drovers in England. The breed is now extinct. In the United States a short-haired dog used in hunting and herding is called "cur-tailed", or "cur" for short.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Miss Muffet</span> English nursery rhyme

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulyásleves</span> Hungarian soup

Gulyásleves, is a Hungarian soup, made of beef, vegetables, ground paprika and other spices. It originates from a dish cooked by the cattlemen, who tended their herds in the Great Hungarian Plain. These Hungarian cowboys often camped out with their cattle days away from populated areas, so they had to make their food from ingredients they could carry with themselves, and this food had to be cooked in the one available portable cauldron over an open fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spice mix</span> Blend of spices or herbs

Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, and other seasoned salts are traditionally sold pre-made by grocers, and sometimes baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice are also available. These spice mixes are also easily made by the home cook for later use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Hungary</span> Pattern of human activity and symbolism associated with Hungary and its people

Hungarian culture is characterised by its distinctive cuisine, folk traditions, poetry, theatre, religious customs, music and traditional embroidered garments. Hungarian folklore traditions include tales, music, dance, decorated pottery, carvings and embroidery. Historically, Hungarian music has largely consisted of folk music and classical and baroque pieces. Hungary is at the south-eastern border of Central Europe and shares some cultural similarities with countries in the Balkans. Noted Hungarian authors include Sándor Márai, Imre Kertész, Péter Esterházy, Magda Szabó and János Kodolányi. Imre Kertész is particularly noteworthy for having won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puszta</span>

The Hungarian puszta is a temperate grassland biome of the Great Hungarian Plain. It is an exclave of the Pannonian Steppe, and lies mainly around the River Tisza in the eastern part of Hungary, as well as in the western part of the country and in the Burgenland of Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American and British English spelling differences</span> Comparison between US and UK English spelling

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orzo</span> Type of pasta

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<i>Hello</i> Salutation or greeting

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National symbols of Hungary</span>

The national symbols of Hungary are flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Hungary or Hungarian culture. The highly valued special Hungarian products and symbols are called Hungaricum or Hunnerisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paprika</span> Spice made from red peppers

Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from Capsicum annuum varietals in the Longum group, including chili peppers. Paprika can have varying levels of heat, but the chili peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce chili powder. In some languages, but not English, the word paprika also refers to the plant and the fruit from which the spice is made, as well as to peppers in the Grossum group.

References

  1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "biro".
  2. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "coach".
  3. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "fogas".
  4. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "forint".
  5. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "hussar".
  6. ↑ György Tímár, Magyar eredetű idegen szavak / foreign words of Hungarian origin, Édes Anyanyelvünk (Our Beloved Mother Tongue) Magazine, 3. 1999, page 12
  7. 1 2 Oksana Buranbaeva, Vanja Mladineo, Culture and Customs of Hungary, ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 59
  8. ↑ Richard S. Esbenshade, Hungary, M. Cavendish, 1994. p. 77
  9. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "itsy-bitsy"; Oxford Dictionary of English (2005), s.v. "itsy-bitsy"; Online Etymological Dictionary .
  10. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "pengö".
  11. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "puszta".
  12. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "rezbanyite".
  13. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "sabre".
  14. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary , s.v. "shako".
  15. ↑ Merriam-Webster, s.v. "tokay".
  16. 1 2 Merriam-Webster, s.v. "vashegyite".
  17. ↑ Mindat.org, the location Železník (Vashegy), Slovakia.
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