leány

Leány is a Hungarian noun meaning “girl” or “young woman.” In contemporary Hungarian, the standard everyday word for a female child or young woman is lány; leány is largely archaic, literary, or regional and is often associated with traditional or rural contexts, or with a ceremonial or historical tone. The term can carry connotations of maidenhood or unmarried status and is frequently used in fixed expressions or stylistic writing.

Etymology and history: Leány appears in Old Hungarian and Middle Hungarian texts and has long served as a counterpart to legény, the male equivalent. Its precise origin is not always clear, but the form and usage reflect older stages of the language. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, leány retreated from everyday speech as lány became the dominant term for a girl.

Usage and examples: In literature and historical writing, leány often invokes antiquity or pastoral life and can lend a archaic or ceremonial flavor to the text. It appears in compounds and phrases such as leánynevelés, meaning the education or upbringing of girls, and leánykérés, referring to an engagement or proposal of marriage to a young woman. In modern prose, the word is typically reserved for historical scenes, regional speech, or stylistic effect, rather than everyday discourse.

See also: lány; legény; leánynevelés.