tzoltó

Tzoltó is an archaic or historical spelling of the Hungarian word tűzoltó, meaning firefighter or a member of a fire brigade. The modern form tűzoltó is used today, while tzoltó appears primarily in older texts and prints before orthographic standardization.

Etymology and form

The composite comes from tűz, fire, and oltó, extinguishing or extinguisher. The tzoltó spelling reflects older orthographic practices and variants in representing the same compounds. In contemporary Hungarian, the diacritic on the u (ű) and the modern spelling tűzoltó are standard.

Historical usage

Tzoltó occurs in historical documents, dictionaries, and literature as the prior spelling of the profession. With 19th-century or 20th-century spelling reforms and standardization, the form tzoltó largely disappeared from standard usage and was replaced by tűzoltó. The term denotes the same role—professionals who combat fires and perform fire prevention and rescue tasks.

Contemporary relevance

Today, tzoltó is primarily of linguistic or historical interest, referenced in discussions of old orthography or in reproductions of archival materials. In current usage, tűzoltó is the accepted term, while related institutions are described as tűzoltóság (fire department) and tűzoltó egyesület (firefighter association).

See also

tűzoltó, tűzoltóság, Hungarian orthography history.