Hungarian Historical Phonology mosoly

mosoly 'smile'

mosolyog 'smile (verb)'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

? *mućkV-

Status of the Ugric etymology

Possible

Loan etymology

None suggested

Cognates suggested in earlier research

Mansi: South (T) mås- 'mosolyog, lächeln', East (KU) mosət- 'улыбнуться', West (P) mus- 'mosolyog, lächeln', North (So) musat- 'улыбнуться'< Proto-Mansi *mus-

Commentary

The etymology is considered uncertain by the UEW, and it is noted that Hungarian s does not correspond regularly to Mansi s. UEW also hints at the possibility that the Ugric word is of onomatopoetic origin.

The vowel correspondence between the Hungarian and Mansi cognates is regular. Regarding the sibilants, Hungarian s cannot reflect Proto-Uralic *ć regularly, but s is the regular reflex of the *ćk reflex. We know that *ćk is simplied to *s in Mansi (compare *aćka- > Proto-Mansi ūsəl 'step'). We could assume that the Proto-Ugric word had the cluster *ćk, and a form *mućkV- could be reconstructed to account for the Hungarian and Mansi words. The cluster *ćk might explain the irregular sibilant correspondence in some other Ugric words as well.

Conclusion

The Hungarian and Mansi words can probbably reflect Proto-Ugric *mućkV-.

References

UEW s.v. mućɜ-, muśɜ- : ? PUg Uralonet