anya

• IPA^(key): /ˈan.ja/

anya

1. (interrogative) what

Probably from Proto-Uralic *ańa (“wife of an older male relative; mother”).[1][2][3]

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒɲɒ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: anya
• Rhymes: -ɲɒ

anya (plural anyák)

1. mother

   Synonyms: édesanya, mama, anyu, anyuci, anyuka

   • 1925 March, Attila József, Tiszta szívvel:

     Nincsen apám, se anyám, / se istenem, se hazám, / se bölcsőm, se szemfedőm, / se csókom, se szeretőm.

     I have got no father, no mother, / no god, no homeland, / no cradle, no shroud, / no kiss, no lover.

2. (engineering) nut (piece of metal intended to be screwed onto a bolt)

   Synonyms: csavaranya, anyacsavar

One needs to take extra caution about using this noun with the second-person singular or plural possessive suffixes (-d and -tok), as it may be understood as a short form of some highly offensive expletive (a kurva anyád, literally your mother, the whore) in Hungarian, even if no attribute is added whatsoever. Even if the context makes it crystal clear that no offense is implied, it still doesn’t sound polite with second-person endings. Instead, it is better to use édesanya or perhaps (in case of a friend) anyuka with second-person suffixes (édesanyád, anyukád or édesanyátok, anyukátok). Out of respect, it is also advisable to use édesanya (or anyuka) when referring to the speaker’s own mother (édesanyám).

Of a child or children:

When not referring to the relation between mother and child (e.g. “the best mother of [in] the world”) or in the sense “nut”:

• anya 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
• anya in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)
• anya in Bizonfy, Ferenc. Magyar–angol szótár (’Hungarian–English Dictionary’). Budapest: Franklin Társulat, 1886
• anya in Hungarian–English dictionary at SZTAKI

From Proto-Igboid *ɛ́-nĩ́Nã̀. Cognate with Ogbah ɛ́ɲâ, Ezaa ɛ́ɲá, Izi ɛ́ɲá, Ukwuani-Aboh-Ndoni ɛ́ɲá, Ika ɛ́ɲá.[1] Further cognate with Proto-Yoruboid *é-jú, Akan anyiwa.

• IPA^(key): /áɲá/

anya

1. eye