ragával

Ragával is not a standard dictionary entry in Hungarian, but it can be understood as a potential instrumental form meaning “with a rag.” In Hungarian, instrumental meaning “with …” is normally formed by attaching the suffix -val/-vel to the stem of a noun. When the stem ends in a consonant, assimilation often yields forms with double consonants, as in rongy (rag cloth) becoming ronggyal or ronggyával (with a rag).

In practice, the ordinary way to say “with a rag” is ronggyal or ronggyával, since rongy is the common Hungarian word for a rag. The hypothetical form ragával would only appear if a base noun rag- existed in the language or a borrowing used that stem. As such, ragával is uncommon and rarely encountered in standard usage. It can appear in dialectal writing, experimental language use, or as a rare inflected form in reference to a non-native or borrowed term.

Morphology and usage: the instrumental suffix -val/-vel marks means or instrument, with vowel harmony influencing the form. The choice between -val and -vel depends on the stem’s final vowel, but with a stem like rag- (if it were treated as a base), ragával would reflect regular alternations consistent with other instrumental formations.

See also: Hungarian grammar, instrumental case; examples with rongy, ronggyal, ronggyával.