# lakni



## OldAvatar

Please, can a Hungarian native speaker give a detail about the meaning and etymology of the word *lakni*?

Thank you!


----------



## Kraus

Lakni = to live, to reside (Romanian: a locui). Unfortunately, I have no idea about its etymology.


----------



## OldAvatar

Kraus said:


> Lakni = to live, to reside (Romanian: a locui). Unfortunately, I have no idea about its etymology.



Thank you for your quick answer!
There is a debate on another thread about Romanian etymology of a *locui, locuire*. Romanian dictionaries say that it is of Hungarian origin, deriving from _lakni_, but the meaning and similarity with Latin _locus_ is obvious. So, I've got some doubts about the verity of the official info.


----------



## Gaeza

I'd say it's a an ancient finno-ugric root word. Maybe it's similar in Finnish and Estonian.

Some derived words are: lakos - resident, lakás - apartment, lakosság - population, residents of a city/village.


----------



## OldAvatar

Gaeza said:


> I'd say it's a an ancient finno-ugric root word. Maybe it's similar in Finnish and Estonian.
> 
> Some derived words are: lakos - resident, lakás - apartment, lakosság - population, residents of a city/village.




Thank you very much for your contribution!
It looks like this theory is still influenced by some sort of old style thinking.
In Romanian, *locaş*, is pronounced in a similar way with *lakos*, meaning _a slot_ or _a living_ place. In Latin, _locus_, means mostly the same thing, as far as I know...

Have a nice weekend!


----------



## jonquiliser

Gaeza said:


> I'd say it's a an ancient finno-ugric root word. Maybe it's similar in Finnish and Estonian.
> 
> Some derived words are: lakos - resident, lakás - apartment, lakosság - population, residents of a city/village.



Have no idea about what linguists would say, but at least to an untrained eye the similarity is little with Finnish:

asua (live, reside), asukas (resident), asunto (flat), kansa/väestö (from _väki_) people/nation/population.


----------



## Gaeza

jonquiliser said:


> Have no idea about what linguists would say, but at least to an untrained eye the similarity is little with Finnish:
> 
> asua (live, reside), asukas (resident), asunto (flat), kansa/väestö (from _väki_) people/nation/population.


 
OldAvatar's Latin theory might be right then. I'll pop in to the library for a look at an etimology dictionary tomorrow.


----------



## Setwale_Charm

Gaeza said:


> I'd say it's a an ancient finno-ugric root word. Maybe it's similar in Finnish and Estonian.


 
It`s not actually: Finnish:asua Estonian: elama. 

However, 'elni' meaning "to live" in biological sense does have resembling counterparts in Finnish "elää", and Estonian "elama". 

Also, life: Hungarian - élet, Finnish - elo, Estonian - elu.


----------



## Gaeza

Setwale_Charm said:


> It`s not actually: Finnish:asua Estonian: elama.
> 
> However, 'elni' meaning "to live" in biological sense does have resembling counterparts in Finnish "elää", and Estonian "elama".
> 
> Also, life: Hungarian - élet, Finnish - elo, Estonian - elu.


 
That's quite interesting. Élet also meant grain for a long time, some poets still used it in the 19th and early 20th century.


----------



## Setwale_Charm

Gaeza said:


> That's quite interesting. Élet also meant grain for a long time, some poets still used it in the 19th and early 20th century.


 
Any connection or colligation there?


----------



## Gaeza

Setwale_Charm said:


> Any connection or colligation there?


 

Well I read it somewhere that in Vietnamese, they use the same word for 'rice' and 'life'. It should be something similar in this case too, but regarding the fact that it seems to be an ancient finno-ugric root-word, it must have meant 'life' all along, plus it had this phase when it meant that and 'grain'.


----------



## Gaeza

Alright, I've made some research, here are the notes I made:

lakik [1198] - lak névszó igei párja, ősmagyar korban igenévszó, majd ikes ige. Régi kifejezések: lakos, lakás, lakó, nyelvújítás utániak: lakosság, lakályos.

The verb (lakni, lakik) itself's first recording is from 1198, says it stems from lak, meaning a sort of abode, place of rest.


lak [1086] - valószínűleg ősi, finnugor szó, finn lakka - födém, eresz, védőtető, észt lakk - tető, padlás, finnugor alapnyelvben feltételezhetően : lakka - födém, tető. Nyelvi változás: finnugor kk> magyar k

Lak's first recording is from 1086, presumably finno-ugric, the interesting part is that it presents parallels from Finnish and Estonian. Finn.: lakka - protecting roof, eaves; Est.: lakk - roof, attic.

I may have just won the argument. 


The book I looked up is: Zaicz Gábor - Etimológiai szótár : magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete; 2006; Budapest.


----------

