Hungarian Historical Phonology kísér

kísér 'begleiten, verfolgen'

kísért 'in Versuchung führen, verführen; spuken'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

késér (see UEW)

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

Disputed:

UEW: PUg *kećɜ- 'track, pursue; Spuren folgen, verfolgen'

Loan etymology

None suggested

Cognates suggested in earlier research

UEW:

Khanty: East (V) kö̆t́- 'Spuren folgen, auf dem Weg bleiben, den Weg finden', South (DN) kŏt́- 'Spuren folgen, auf dem Weg bleiben', North (Kaz) kŭś- 'Spuren aufnehmen, auf dem Weg bleiben, nach den Spuren verfolgen' < Proto-Khanty *küć-

Commentary

The etymology is listed among the certain Ugric etymologies in the UEW, but it involves various problems. Hungarian s does not usually correspond to Khanty *ć: UEW reconstructs PUg *ć, but there are few convincing examples of *ć being reflected as s in Hungarian.

The vowel-relations between Hungarian kísér ~ késér and Khanty *küć- are also not regular, as has been noted by Aikio (2015a: 10-11). Khanty *ü is not a regular reflex of Ugric *e; this vowel is reconstructed by UEW, but it is unclear what this choice of vowel is based on. The long vowel in Hungarian is of unclear origin.

Aikio (2015a: 10-11) suggests an alternative, more convincing etymology for the Khanty word, assuming that Proto-Khanty *küć- is a reflex of Proto-Uralic *küjə- 'track; follow'. This leaves the Hungarian word without convincing cognates, and the Ugric etymology should be rejected, and new explanations for the origin of Hungarian kísér should be searched elsewhere.

Conclusion

The Ugric etymology is implausible due to a competing etymology for the Khanty cognate.

References

Aikio 2015a: 10-11: Not PUg, Kh < PU

MSzFE

UEW s.v. kećɜ-: Proto-Ugric Uralonet