szemmérettel

Szemmérettel is the instrumental form of the Hungarian noun szemméret, which can be translated as "eye size" or more loosely as "size estimated by eye." The term is used to describe a measurement or estimation that is performed visually rather than with precise instruments. In practice, szemmérettel indicates that the dimension was obtained by estimation, not by exact measurement.

From a linguistic perspective, szemméret is a compound of szem ("eye") and méret ("size"). The instrumental suffix -vel/-telle in Hungarian yields szemmérettel, a form that appears in phrases where a measurement is described as being approximate or visually assessed. This usage is more common in descriptive, narrative, or informal contexts and may appear in older texts. In formal writing, explicit measurements are typically preferred over eye-based estimates.

Usage is typically seen in sentences that specify how a measurement was obtained. For example: A doboz méretét szemmérettel becsülték meg. (They estimated the box’s size by eye.) Such constructions emphasize the method of assessment rather than the exact value. The term functions as a grammatical form rather than a standalone lexical item, and its utility lies in conveying the method of measurement within Hungarian syntax.

See also: szem, méret, becsülés.