szántak

Szántak is a Hungarian verb form meaning "they plowed" or "they were plowing" in the past tense. It is the third-person plural past tense form of the verb szánt, which means to plow or till soil. The form is used to describe actions completed by multiple subjects in the past and appears in narratives, reports, and everyday speech when recounting agricultural work.

The root szánt- is connected to the noun szántás, which refers to the act of plowing. Plowing is the agricultural practice of turning over soil to prepare seedbeds and to manage weeds. In Central European farming, including Hungary, szántás has historically been carried out with horse-drawn plows and, in modern times, with tractors. The concept remains central in descriptions of rural life and agricultural history.

In usage, szántak is typically accompanied by time and place expressions, for example: "Szántak a földeken tegnap" meaning "They plowed the fields yesterday." The verb form is part of the simple past tense and is commonly found in both informal and literary Hungarian when recounting past actions involving multiple plowngroups or communities.

Related terms include szántás (plowing), szántó (arable land or plow field), and szántóeszközök (plow implements). These terms situate szántak within the broader vocabulary of Hungarian agriculture and rural life.