muszáj
Hungarian
Etymology
From German muss sein (“must be”), from müssen (“to have to”).
Pronunciation
Noun
muszáj (invariable in this sense)
Usage notes
Even though its most natural English equivalents are verbs, this Hungarian word is not classified as a verb because it cannot have any inflection characteristic of a verb. Instead, it is used in the past and the future tense just like a noun or an adjective, i.e., supplemented with a form of van, such as muszáj volt (“it was necessary [for one to…]”; “[one] had to…”) and muszáj lesz (“it will be necessary [for one to…]”, “[one] will have to…”), similarly to its synonyms szükséges (“necessary”) (impersonal in this sense), köteles (“[be] obliged [to]”), and kénytelen (“[be] compelled [to]”).
Noun
muszáj (plural muszájok)
- (literary, only in certain phrases) necessity, constraint, pressure
- Synonyms: kényszer, kényszerűség, szükség, szükségesség, szükségszerűség, nyomás
Usage notes
It is practically only used in this sense in the form muszájból (“out of necessity”) and in the phrase nagy úr a muszáj (“necessity knows no law”, literally “necessity is a powerful master”).
Further reading
- muszáj in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“An Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN