Hungarian Historical Phonology réz

réz (: reze-) 'copper'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

? 1211 Reze (see EWUNng: 1263, s.v. réz)

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

? Proto-Hungarian *räwδä or Pre-Hungarian *räwtä

Kümmel 2020: *räwtä

WOT: 1335: *rezə

Cognates suggested in earlier research

None

Loan etymology

Hu ← Caucasian, cf. Avar rez (Munkácsi 1901: 527-528) Hu ← Iranian (WOT: 1079, 1335; Kümmel 2020: 253)

Commentary

It is commonly assumed that the Hungarian word is an Iranian loan. The form réz (with the stem reze-) can formally reflect earlier *rätä or *räwtä.

The idea that some reflex of Iranian *Hraudá- is the origin of the Hungarian word is convincing, but it is not clear what is the exact source. WOT (1335) assumes an Alanic source which is reconstructed as *redV, but there is no direct evidence of this word being attested in Alanic/Ossetic: it seems that the Alanic origin of the Hungarian word is based on the idea that all or most of the loans in Hungarian are specifically from Alanic and not from some other Iranian language. WOT reconstructs Alanic *redV as the source form, assuming that this Alanic word is borrowed from some Caucasian language that had borrowed the word from Iranian: the reconstructed *e vocalism would be impossible in the case of an inherited word from PIr *Hrauda-. The attested Middle Iranian forms listed by WOT (Parthian rōδ, Middle Persian rōy, Sogdian rōd 'copper, brass') would fit poorly as the origin of the Hungarian word.

Munkácsi (1901: 527-528) derived the Hungarian word directly from some "Caucasian" language, citing Avar rez 'copper', but this etymology is improbable: WOT refers to Bielmeier who notes that no such Avar word is known. It should also be remarked that no certain borrowings directly from "Caucasian" languages into Hungarian are known.

The Alanic explanation presented by WOT seems complicated. More plausible is the idea of Kümmel (2020: 253), who assumes the Hu réz reflects earlier *räwtä which is borrowed from Proto-Iranian or Common Iranian *raudá-. The front vowel *ä is found as the substitution of Iranian *a in a number of old words, so we do not have to assume a later Alanic form with *e to explain the Hungarian vowel. The sequence *äw would have been simplified in Hungarian, cf. PU *lewlä > Hu lélëk 'spirit'. It is also possible that *äw would have been simplified already in the borrowing situation, resulting in Pre-Hungarian *rätä. Hungarian réz: reze- in any case points regularly to older *ä, not *e as reconstructed by WOT.

The more exact dating of the borrowing is difficult, but it can be assumed that we are dealing with an early Iranian loan borrowed into Hungarian from a language that retained the Iranian diphtong *aw. The word has been borrowed before z emerged in Hungarian, but at the present point it is difficult to say whether Pre-Hungarian *t or Proto-Hungarian *δ was used as the substitution of Iranian *d: WOT (1079) notes that both possibilities are plausible.

Conclusion

An early loanword from some reflex of Iranian *Hraudá- (< Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hraudhá-) 'copper'.

References

EWUng 1263: s.v. réz: Unclear origin, ? ← Caucasian, cf. Avar rez

Kümmel 2020: 253: Hu ← IIr

Munkácsi 1901: 527-528: ← Caucasian, cf. Avar rez

WOT: 1079, 1335: Hu ← Alanic