leg-
Hungarian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Prefix
[edit]leg-
- (superlative-forming prefix) -est, most, -most. Forms the superlative mostly from comparative adjectives, forms already suffixed with -(a/e/o)bb (altogether functioning like a circumfix); occasionally from the lemma itself.
- zöld (“green”) → zöldebb (“greener”) → legzöldebb (“greenest”)
Usage notes
[edit]The adjectives that form their superlative without the ‑(a/e/o)bb suffix, i.e. directly from the positive (lemma) form, are certain directional or locational adjectives:
Other examples include legalsó, legkülső, legszélső, legelső, legutolsó, and leghátsó.
Some have an alternative form with ‑(a/e/o)bb, often with a different sense, like legfelsőbb bíróság (“Supreme Court”, as opposed to literal “topmost”).
If it is added to a phrase that is written in two words (e.g. életbe vágó, dicséretre méltó, figyelemre méltó, harcra kész, hasznot hajtó, szívhez szóló), their derivations with this suffix (and the terminal -bb) are to be written in one word: legéletbevágóbb, legdicséretreméltóbb, legfigyelemreméltóbb, legharcrakészebb, leghasznothajtóbb, legszívhezszólóbb.[1]
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Section 128 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (’The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN