féllel

Féllel is a Hungarian instrumental form of the noun fél, meaning half. It is formed by attaching the instrumental suffix -lel to the stem fél, with assimilation of the final l, yielding féllel. As an instrumental form, féllel is used to express the means, instrument, or accompaniment by which an action is performed, and can also convey a partial quantity in a distributive sense, roughly translating to “with a half” or “by half” in English. The construction is mainly found in formal or written Hungarian and is relatively rare in everyday speech.

In grammar, féllel behaves as a standard instrumental noun: it takes the same syntactic positions and governs the same kinds of complements as other instrumental forms. It can combine with verbs, adjectives, and numerals when the sense involves halves or partial quantities. The choice between féllel and other expressions for half depends on context and specificity, with more everyday language often preferring alternative constructions.

Etymology: fél comes from older Hungarian roots meaning “half.” The instrumental form is built through the general Hungarian pattern -val/-vel, with assimilation producing -lel after a stem ending in l.

Frequency and register: uncommon in colloquial use; more likely to appear in literary, scholarly, or precise technical writing where exact expression of means or partial quantities is required.

See also: Hungarian grammar, instrumental case, nominal derivation.