agy

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *ajŋe (“brain”), cognate to Finnish aivot and Estonian aju.^[1] Earlier compared with e.g. Finnish otsa (“forehead”), Komi-Zyrian водз (vodź, “fore, front”), Komi-Permyak одз (odź, “front part”) and derived from a suggested Finno-Ugric root *ońća,^[2][3] but most of these words are today considered to be loanwords derived by various routes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂entíos (“front part, forehead”). Reintroduced by Ferenc Toldy during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries..

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒɟ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒɟ

agy (plural agyak)

1. (anatomy) brain (control center of the central nervous system), (in compounds) cerebral (of or relating to the brain)

   agykárosodás ― brain damage

   agykéreg ― cerebral cortex

2. (mostly in set phrases) brains, mind, intellect (the figurative substance of a brain; mental ability)

   Synonyms: ész, elme, tudat, szellem, értelem

3. butt (of a rifle or pistol)

   Synonyms: puskaagy, puskatus, tus

   • 2012, Miklós Gábor Kövesdi (translator), Kathy Reichs, A csontok nem hazudnak (Deadly Décisions), Ulpius-ház →ISBN, chapter 31, page 310:

     Szabad kezével a cipzárján kezdett matatni. Mikor kinyitotta, láttam, hogy egy 38-as agya lóg ki a derékövéből.

     With his free hand Tank fumbled with the zipper of his jacket. When it opened I could see the butt of a .38 tucked into his waistband.

4. hub (of a wheel)

   Synonym: kerékagy

• Vizi E. Szilveszter, Magyar Orvosi Nyelv. NOK Kiadó, Budapest, 2001 [1]

• agy in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• agy in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).