Hungarian Historical Phonology feslik

feslik 'sich trennen, sich lösen; (Blume) sich entfalten'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

No notable dialectal variation (all attested forms show e), see ÚMTSz I: 431, s.v. feslik

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

Hungarian fes- can reflect Pre-Hu *päčä- or *päčə-

(Disputed:)

UEW: PUg *päčɜ- 'part, separate, work itself loose; sich trennen, sich lösen'

Sammallahti 1988: 546: PFU *pečä- 'rip up'

Status of the Ugric etymology

Improbable

Loan etymology

None suggested

Cognates suggested in earlier research

UEW:

Khanty: East (V) päči- 'разбирать, разобрать на части; перебирать (напр. Волосы)', (Vj) pĕčäγəl- 'abreißen, abgehen (Knopf)'

Mansi: South (TJ) pišt-, East (KU) pēšt-, West (P) pēšt-, North (So) pēsat- 'losbinden', (N) pēsėml- 'fesel; sich trennen'

? Saami: South piätseke- 'dehiscere; öppna sig, giva sig ifrân vart annat' (= bïehtsegidh 'grow; come out (of leaves); expand')

Commentary

The Ugric etymology is considered certain by UEW, but the possible Proto-Finno-Ugric background is considered uncertain. However, also the Ugric etymology involves problems. Hungarian feslik can reflect the reconstruction given by UEW, as e points to PUg/PU *ä. However, this does not mean that a Proto-Ugric word can be reconstructed: the suggested Khanty and Mansi cognates cannot reflect *päčä- or *päčə- regularly. Semantically the cognate set would be plausible, but because of the phonological problems, the reconstruction of a Proto-Ugric word is unlikely. In this sense we are dealing with a rather typical, irregular "Ugric" etymology. Sammallahti (1988: 546) reconstructs *pečä-, but this would not fit the Hungarian vowel regularly. The etymology is also accepted by Abondolo (1996: 92).

A possible Saami cognate is listed by Sammallahti, UEW and Abondolo (1996): South Saami bïehtsegidh (UEW: piätseke-) 'dehiscere; öppna sig, giva sig ifrân vart annat'. Aikio (2014: 65) notes that the Saami word does not fit the Ugric evidence and would presuppose a reconstruction *päčči-ŋki.

Conclusion

Due to phonological irregularities the Proto-Ugric etymology cannot be accepted.

References

Abondolo 1996: 92: PFU

Aikio 2014: 65: not PU, the Ugric etymology unclear

EWUng

Sammallahti 1988: 546: PFU

UEW s.v. päčɜ-: Proto-Ugric Uralonet