Utó

Utó is a Hungarian bound morpheme that functions as a prefix meaning after or post-, and it is used to form compounds that denote a subsequent or posterior relation. It is not typically used as a standalone word in modern standard Hungarian.

In usage, utó appears in a variety of nouns and adjectives without changing its position in the word. Common formations include utóélet (afterlife), utóhatás (aftereffect), and utólag (retroactively). The corresponding adjective utólagos means retrospective or occurring afterward. These forms are written as single words in Hungarian, with no hyphen separating the prefix from the base word.

Etymology and classification: utó is a native Hungarian derivational prefix, historically rooted in the language’s internal word-formation processes. It participates in a broader system of prefixes that modify meaning to express temporal relations, sequence, or posterior status within compounds.

Usage notes: utó combines with a range of base nouns and adjectives to produce new terms that specify a following or subsequent aspect. It is a productive element in everyday Hungarian and appears across different registers, from concrete terms to more abstract concepts like time or consequence.

See also: Hungarian morphology, prefixes, compounding in Hungarian.