-b

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *-mp. In the Proto-Hungarian period it became -b due to regular phonetic change, then later lengthened to -bb. Cognates include Finnish -mpi.[1]

-b

1. (comparative suffix, somewhat archaic) -er, more (still used in compound verb-forming suffixes)

   ‎idős (“old”) + ‎-b → ‎idősb (“older, senior”)

   ‎külön (“separate”) + ‎-b → ‎különb (“superior”, split from the original)

   ‎súlyos (“serious, grave”) + ‎-b → ‎súlyosbodik (“to become graver”)

   ‎súlyos (“serious, grave”) + ‎-b → ‎súlyosbít (“to make graver, aggravate”)

   ‎öreg (“old (archaic: grand, great)”) + ‎-b → ‎öregbít (“to enhance, bolster [reputation], literally “to make greater””)

   ‎helyes (“correct, right”) + ‎-b → ‎helyesbít (“to rectify”)

   ‎kevés (“few, little [in quantity]”) + ‎-b → ‎kevésbé (“less [to less extent/degree]”), kevesbít (“to lessen”)

   ‎utol (“at the end”, obsolete) + ‎-b → ‎utóbb (“later”, originally utolb)

• (comparative suffix) Variants:

  -b is added to some words ending in a consonant; an archaic variant

  ‎idős (“elderly”) + ‎-b → ‎idősb (“senior”) (the modern comparative is idősebb)

  -bb is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.

  ‎drága (“expensive”) + ‎-bb → ‎drágább (“more expensive”)

  ‎fekete (“black”) + ‎-bb → ‎feketébb (“blacker”)

  -abb is added to most back-vowel words ending in a consonant

  ‎fiatal (“young”) + ‎-abb → ‎fiatalabb (“younger”)

  -obb is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant

  ‎nagy (“big”) + ‎-obb → ‎nagyobb (“bigger”)

  -ebb is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant

  ‎öreg (“old”) + ‎-ebb → ‎öregebb (“older”)

Aside from the literal, relative sense, the comparative in Hungarian can also have an absolute sense, e.g. nagyobb is not necessarily “larger” but also “somewhat large”, “fairly large”, “largish”, “a little on the large side” (but not truly large). This sense is already lexicalized in the case of több, which doesn’t only mean “more” but also “several, multiple” (though not “many”).

• Category:Hungarian comparative adjectives

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

-b

1. Suffix involved in formation of agent-oriented intransitive verb stems

From Proto-Finnic *-pi.

-b

1. Suffix of the third-person singular.

From Proto-Finnic *-pa.

-b

1. (no longer productive) -ing; forms a secondary present active participle of a few verbs.

Lua error: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)

• -dab