szervusz
See also: servus
Hungarian
Hungarian phrasebook
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Alternative forms
Etymology
The greeting evolved from the commoners’ greeting in Latin servus humillimus (“your humblest servant”), said to lords.[1] No subservience is implied in modern use. Compare Slovak servus, Romanian servus, German servus, Swedish tjenare. See also the similar etymology at csaó and alászolgája.
Pronunciation
Interjection
szervusz
Usage notes
Used both for hello and goodbye to someone whom the speaker addresses in the second person. When greeting a group of people, szervusztok is used. Szervusz is more formal and polite than the colloquial szia. It may be used, for example, if one is on first-name terms with the other (see tegeződik) but still wants to convey a respectful attitude.
See also
References
- ^ szervusz in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)