ONCE AGAIN TO THE QUESTION OF MEDIATED (INDIRECT) HUNGARIAN BORROWINGS INTO THE LATVIAN LANGUAGE: LATGALIAN KUNTUŽI

Abstract

Previously more than 50 Hungarian borrowings into the Latvian language have been identified, among which kuntuži is purely a Latgalian word. During the 20th century kuntušs appeared in lexicographical sources of the Latvian language. In the interwar period the lexeme was lexicographized as a foreign word. At the beginning of the 20th century kontuscha is fixed as a lexeme of feminine gender. According to a widely accepted etymology the lexeme was borrowed from the Polish kontusz ~ dialectal kuntusz perhaps through the Lithuanian kuntušas or the Belarusian контушъ ~ кунтушъ where the Polish word originates from the Hungarian *köntüs ~ modern literary köntös. In addition to this explanation there are a number of Indo-European etymologies existing. The etymology of the lexeme becomes even more complicated due to the fact that it is internationalism.