szabad

Borrowed from a Slavic language. Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *svoboda (“freedom”). Compare Serbo-Croatian slȍbodan, Polish swobodny, Czech svobodný.[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɒbɒd]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sza‧bad
• Rhymes: -ɒd

szabad (comparative szabadabb, superlative legszabadabb)

1. free to move or act according to one's will

   Antonyms: (both: primarily nouns) rab, fogoly

   Aki börtönben van, az nem szabad. ― One who is in prison, is not free.

   szabad akarat ― free will

2. free, unoccupied, vacant, available to use

   Antonym: foglalt

   Szabad ez a hely? ― Is this seat free?

3. (predicatively) allowed, permitted

   Antonyms: tilos, nem szabad

   Szabad oda bemenni? or Be szabad oda menni? ― Is it allowed to go in there?

4. (predicatively, informal) free, unoccupied, available

   Synonyms: ráér, van ideje

   Antonym: elfoglalt

   Szabad vagy ma este? ― Are you free tonight?

5. open, unobstructed, unhindered

   A szabad ég alatt éjszakáztak. ― They spent the night under the open sky.

6. unaided, naked (eye)

   A legnagyobb sejt szabad szemmel is látható. ― The biggest cell is visible even with the naked eye.

or (less commonly)

szabad (countable and uncountable, plural szabadok)

1. a politically free person
   • 1848, Sándor Petőfi, Nemzeti dal (National Song), poem (translated by George Szirtes):

     Rabok legyünk vagy szabadok? / Ez a kérdés, válasszatok!

     Shall we be slaves or men set free? / That is the question, answer me!

2. (with -ban or -ba) nature, outside (the area outside of a building; the area outside of a city, the open country, open air)

   Menjünk ki a szabadba! ― Let's go outside!

szabad

1. (auxiliary, impersonal) may, to be allowed

   Synonym: -hat, -het

   Szabadna megjegyeznem valamit? ― May I say something?

It can be conjugated only in 3rd person singular: szabadott, szabadna, szabadjon, occasionally szabadni (especially in the phrase szabadni szabad (“as far as being permitted is concerned, it is permitted [but……]”), and very rarely szabadhat (“it may be allowed”). The verb form of szabad is usually avoided in formal speech and especially in writing, and can be replaced with the adjectival form of szabad (in sense 3) accompanied by a copula conjugated in the equivalent tense and mood. For example, A vonaton nem szabadott dohányozni (“It was not allowed to smoke on the train”) can be replaced with A vonaton nem volt szabad dohányozni without changing the meaning; similarly, Szabadna megjegyeznem valamit? (“May I say something?”) can be replaced with Szabad lenne megjegyeznem valamit?

szabad!

1. Come in!

   Synonym: Tessék!

szabad?

1. Excuse me! (requesting passage through the crowd)

   Synonym: (more polite and more unambiguous) Szabad lesz?

• Category:Hungarian auxiliary verbs

• szabad 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