Hungarian Historical Phonology titok

titok 'secret'

First attestation/Old Hungarian data

[coming]

Important dialectal forms

[coming]

Uralic/Ugric/Pre-Hungarian reconstruction

(Disputed:)

UEW: PUg *tajɜ-ttɜ- 'hide -> keep something secret; verbergen -> verheimlichen'

Status of the Ugric etymology

Probable

Loan etymology

Proto-Ugric ← Iranian *tāyā- 'secret; theft' (see Korenchy 1972 with references)

Cognates suggested in earlier research

UEW:

Mansi: South (TČ) tojtəwpākt- 'sich verbergen', (T) tujt- 'verbergen, verstecken, verheimlichen', (KM) tujt- 'verstecken', tujtpāχt- 'sich verstecken', West (P) tujt- 'verbergen, verstecken, verheimlichen', (LU) tujtkāt- 'sich verbergen', North (So) tūjt- 'verstecken', tūjtiγpāχt- 'sich verstecken' < Proto-Mansi *tūjt-

Commentary

The Ugric etymology of titok seems possible, but tolvaj, tulaj and tulajdon mentioned by UEW as possibly related cannot belong here. Regarding titok', it is interesting that Proto-Ugric/Proto-Uralic *oj yields Hungarian *ï in closed syllables (see the discussion in hízik) but there seem to be no good examples of *aj showing the same development, at least not in the initial syllable. The Mansi cognate points to and old *a_a stem. If we accept that Hu i < *ï < *aj(C) is regular, a Proto-Ugric (causative) stem *taj(a)-ttV- can be reconstructed like UEW .

It is unclear if tilos 'forbidden', also mentioned by the UEW, belongs here somehow.

The idea that Proto-Ugric *taja- is a loan from Iranian *tāyā- 'secret; theft' is plausible.

Conclusion

The Proto-Ugric etymology and its Iranian origin are plausible.

References

Holopainen 2019: Proto-Ugric ← Iranian

Korenchy 1972: Proto-Ugric ← Iranian

UEW s.v. *tajɜ-ttɜ--: Proto-Ugric Uralonet