Hungarian Historical Phonology könnyű

könnyű 'light (adjective)'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

Zhivlov 2016: 295, 298: PUg *kȣ̈nȣ̈γ 'light (adjective)'

MSzFE, UEW: PUg *kȣ̈nɜ 'light (a); leicht'

Status of the Ugric etymology

?

Loan etymology

None suggested

Cognates suggested in earlier research

UEW:

Khanty: East (J) kö̆nəγ, South (DN) kenə, North (O) kon < PKh *käṇəγ (Zhivlov 2016)

Mansi: South (TJ) küńkē·ś, East (KU) kiγnə, West (P) kinnə 'light' < PMs *kinγǟ (Zhivlov 2016)

Proto-Ob-Ugric:  ?

Commentary

The Ugric etymology presented in UEW is supported by Zhivlov (2016: 295, 299), who notes that this is one of the words that show the regular conditioned development *kVnV > *kVṇ(V) in Hungarian and Khanty. Zhivlov reconstructs the word-final *γ to Proto-Ugric: in UEW it is assumed that the suffixal elements in Khanty, Mansi and Hungarian reflect different derivational suffixes.

Regarding the vocalism, Zhivlov follows UEW in reconstructing *ȣ̈ (any front-vowel). The uncertainty of the vowel-reconstruction makes the Proto-Ugric etymology uncertain, despite the regular consonant-correspondence. Hungarian ö points to Proto-Ugric *ü, but this does not fit the Khanty and Mansi evidence regularly. However, due to the divergent dialectal forms in Hungarian (kinnê, kenyid etc.) one cannot be certain whether ö is original here.

Conclusion

Due to the problems with the vowel-reconstruction, the Ugric etymology remains uncertain (even though the words certainly are somehow connected).

References

EWUng : 817, s.v. könnyű: Proto-Ugric

MSzFE: 372, s.v. könnyű: Proto-Ugric

UEW s.v. kȣ̈nɜ: Proto-Ugric Uralonet

Zhivlov 2016: 295, 299: Proto-Ugric