Hungarian Historical Phonology ló

ló 'horse'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

(Disputed:)

UEW: PUg *luwɜ (luγǝ) 'horse; Pferd'

Status of the Ugric etymology

Improbable (phonologically irregular)

Loan etymology

PUg ← East Iranian *loγǝ < *vlaγǝ < PIr *bāraka- (~ Middle Persian bārag 'horse') (Harmatta 1997: 72)

Possible substrate loans

Cognates suggested in earlier research

Khanty: East (V) loγ, South (DN) taw, North (O) law

Mansi: South (TJ) low, East (KU) lo, West (P) luw, North (So) luw

Commentary

No PUg form can be reconstructed; even POUg reconstruction is impossible due to irregular vocalism. As hinted already by Hajdú (1962), the Ugric words are probably loans from somewhere.

The Iranian etymology of Harmatta (1997) is based on ad hoc East Iranian reconstruction.

Conclusion

The Iranian loan etymology is unconvincing; the Ugric etymology is irregular. Possible substrate loans.

References

EWUng

Hajdú 1962

Harmatta 1997

UEW: Proto-Ugric Uralonet