essék

Essék is a Hungarian verb form associated with the optative or hortative mood. It appears in historical texts and some dialectal varieties as a way to express a wish or command directed at a third-person singular subject, roughly translating to “let him/her eat” in English. The form is linked to the verb eszik, meaning “to eat,” and is typically described in older grammars as part of the former Hungarian mood system.

In modern standard Hungarian, essék is rarely used and is generally treated as archaic or literary. Contemporary language tends to express similar ideas with other constructions, and essék is most often encountered today in linguistic discussions, philological studies, or quoted in classical literature rather than in everyday speech.

The usage of essék illustrates historical approaches to volition and wish in Hungarian and is of interest to scholars studying the evolution of verbal moods, affixes, and phonology in the language. As with many archaic forms, its presence helps illuminate how Hungarian has reorganized its mood system over time and why certain forms have fallen out of regular use.

See also: Hungarian mood, optative, eszik.