Hungarian Historical Phonology sellő

sellő 'Nixe, Wasserfrau; Stromschnelle'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

sellő is first attested in the 18th century (EWUng 1312, s.v. sellő)

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

(Disputed:)

UEW: ? PUg *čärlɜ (ćärlɜ) 'rapids; Stromschnelle'

Status of the Ugric etymology

Improbable (phonologically irregular); Hu sellő might be derivative from the verb serl'-

Loan etymology

None suggested

Cognates suggested in earlier research

UEW:

Mansi: South (TJ) särľī, West (LU) särlə: särlə-waŋkə '»ляжина« (в болотах)', North (N) sārlä 'a folyónak lejtősebb helye, hol a víz nagy sebességgel ömlik alá; abschüssige Stelle im Flusse, wo das Wasser stürzend fließt'

Commentary

The meaning 'Nixe, Wasserfrau' in Hungarian is secondary according to UEW and EWUng.

The Ugric etymology is presented as uncertain by UEW, and it is rejected by EWUng ("kaum warsch").

Both UEW and EWUng remark that Hungarian sellő can be derived from serlik ~ sell- 'összesodródik; sich zusammendrehen'. This etymology would be transparent, as sellő could formally be a present participle of the verb sell-. However, the change ll < *rl is not regular in Hungarian, as many examples of rl are found. sell- could be a dialect form, as ll < *rl seems to occur regularly in some dialects (for example, Hungarian tarló 'Ackerfield' has variants like tolla and 18th c. talló-, EWUNg 1435 s.v. tarló). The origin of the verb serlik is uncertain: EWUng (1321, s.v. serít, 1374, s.v. sürög) connects it with sürög 'sich beeifern', but this connection needs more research (the vocalism of the allegedly related forms is not clear).

Regarding the possible relationship of Hungarian sellő or the verbal stem ser- and the Mansi forms listed in the UEW, the etymological connection seems implausible: there are few examples of Hungarian s corresponding to Proto-Mansi *ć, and the vowel-relation is irregular: Hungarian e points to Proto-Ugric *ä, but the short ä in South and West Mansi cannot regularly reflect this vowel.

Conclusion

The Ugric etymology is impossible due to phonological irregularities. The alternative etymology of sellő << serlik requires further research.

References

EWUng 1312, s.v. sellő: Not PUg

UEW s.v. čärlɜ (ćärlɜ): ? PUg Uralonet