elver

elver

See also: êl'ver

English

Etymology

Variant of eelfare, originally "brood of young eels", from Middle English *elfare, *elvare, from el (“eel”) +‎ fare (“group of journeyers”). Equivalent to eel +‎ fare.

Liberman instead connects the second element of this word to a putative Old English suffix *-for(e)[1], but there is no need to posit such a suffix when the traditional etymology suffices. Furthermore, such a suffix is not securely attested, and the spelling of the word's earliest attestation (as yele fare, ell vare) implies Middle English /aː/.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlvə(ɹ)/

• Audio (southern England)

  (file)

Noun

elver (plural elvers)

1. A young eel.
   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, 2013 edition, Granta Books, page 69:

     When these glass eels enter freshwater they transform again into elvers – miniature versions of the adult eels.

Translations

a young eel

Catalan: angula (ca) f, anguiló m Danish: glasål c (glass eel) Dutch: glasaal (nl) m, aaltje (nl) n, palinkje (nl) n French: anguille de verre (fr) f, civelle (fr) f, pibale (fr) f, bouiron (fr) Galician: meixón (gl) m German: Glasaal (de) m Irish: luathóg f Macedonian: јагулче n (jagulče) Maori: ngorengore, nīoreore, ngāeroero Spanish: angula (es) f

References

1. Anatoly Liberman (2008), “heifer”, in An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pages 101-5.

Anagrams

• Lever, Revel, lever, revel

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Hungarian

Etymology

el- +‎ ver

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlvɛr]
• Hyphenation: el‧ver
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Verb

elver

1. (transitive) to thrash, whack, trounce, to defeat utterly

   A hazai csapat elverte a vendégeket. ― The home team thrashed the visitors.

   Synonym: legyőz

2. (transitive) to thrash, beat up, to beat mercilessly
   • 1851, Mór Jókai, A két szász (“The Two Saxons”):

     De János mester sem volt rest, hanem előkapott egy fokosbaltát a szegletből, s miután a vadászkést kiütötte ellene kezéből, nekiesett a fokossal, s úgy elverte, úgy elpáholta azt, mint a kétfenekű dobot, míg csak a fullajtár, bornak és ütlegeknek sokasága miatt le nem esett a lábáról, akkor aztán szépen lefektette az ágyba, s reggelig ott hagyta nyugodni a műhelyben.

     But Master John was not idle either, but took an axe from the corner, and having knocked the hunting-knife out of his enemy’s hand, he struck at him with the axe, and beat him and whipped him like a double-headed drum, until the outrider fell off his feet due to the multitude of wine and clubs, and then he nicely laid him down in bed, and let him rest in the workshop till morning.

   Synonyms: elagyabugyál, eltángál, elfenekel, elkalapál, elpáhol, helybenhagy

3. (transitive) to squander, waste, throw away (money, wealth)

   Minden pénzét elverte. ― He/she squandered all his/her money.

   Synonyms: elkölt, elpazarol

4. (transitive) to drive off violently
5. (transitive, archaic) to play (to produce music using a musical instrument)

   Synonym: eljátszik

6. (transitive, dated) to pass (time) while being bored, to kill time
   • 1986, Anna Dániel, Teréz küldetése (“Teréz’s Mission”), chapter 2, page 18:

     A veszprémi hegyeket megkerülve érkeztek Zalaegerszegre, s ott értesültek róla, hogy az ifjú Brunszvik Nagykanizsán táborozik. Ott rá is találtak; az inszurgens a városban vett ki szállást, és kártyázással verte el az időt.

     They arrived in Zalaegerszeg bypassing the Veszprém hills, and there they learned that young Brunszvik was camping in Nagykanizsa. There they found him; the insurgent had taken lodgings in the town and passed the time by playing cards.

   Synonyms: tölt, elüt, eltölt, (dated) múlat

7. (of a clock) to strike, announce (an hour of the day)

   Elverte a tizenkettőt. ― The clock struck twelve.

   Synonym: elüt

8. (transitive, slightly literary) to appease, allay, quench, still, stop, end (dream, thirst, hunger etc.)
   • 1847, János Arany, Toldi, canto 4, stanza 7, lines 1–4; trans. by Watson Kirkconnell:

     Vadmadár-tojással éh-szomját elvervén, / Szörnyen hányta a hab a jövőnek tervén: / Merre menjen? mihez fogjon? uramfia! / Nincsen hő lelkének hová fordulnia.

     Having with eggs allayed his hunger’s pains, ¶ In making future plans he racked his brains. ¶ Where should he go? What should he start? My God ¶ His ardent soul alone its pathway trod.

9. (transitive, of hail or rain) to destroy
   • 1844, Sándor Petőfi, Vizet iszom (“I drink water”), stanza 2, lines 1–4:

     A szőlőket tavaly / Elverte tán a jég? / Vagy a dér csipte meg / S bor nem termett elég?

     Did the vines get hit by ice last year, perhaps? Or was it white frost and not enough wine produced?

   • 1872, Mór Jókai, Az arany ember (Timar’s Two Worlds), part 4, chapter 4, translated by Mrs. Hegan Kennard:

     Hanem egyet nem tudtak az orvosok, ennek elfeledtek utánajárni: – azt, hogy a nyár végén az egész Balaton környékét elverte a jég.

     But they had forgotten that toward the end of the summer hail-storms had laid waste the whole district;

   • 1962, Ferenc Móra, “Szeptemberi emlék” (“A Memory from September”), in Tápéi furfangosok, volume 1:

     Szent István délutánján elverte a jég a szőlőt. Azaz dehogy elverte: széthasogatta még a tőkéket is. Még másnap reggel is marékszámra lehetett szedni a jeget a laposokon, ahol a víz összesodorta.

     On the afternoon of St Stephen’s Day, the vineyard was hit by ice. Or rather, it wasn’t only hit: the vine stocks were actually cracked into pieces. The next morning one could still pick the ice by the handful on the flats where the water had washed it away.

   A jégeső elverte a vetést. ― The hail destroyed the corn.

10. (transitive, of the sun or wind) to disperse, drive away
    • 1872, Mór Jókai, Az arany ember (Timar’s Two Worlds), part 1, chapter 14, translated by Mrs. Hegan Kennard:

      Egy este elverte a szél a felhőket, s amint Timár kabinja ablakából kitekintett, meglátta a nyugati láthatáron az újholdat.

      One evening the wind dispersed the clouds, and when Timar looked out of his cabin window he saw on the western horizon the crescent moon [in the original: "new moon"].

    • 1889, Mór Jókai, Utazás egy sírdomb körül (“A Journey Around a Burial Mound”), chapter 13:

      Reggelre azonban nem hogy megenyhült vagy megfordult volna a szél, hanem még erősebb lett, s egészen keletinek nyilatkozott. Az a jó azonban volt benne, hogy az esőfelhőket mind elverte az égről a hegyek mögé.

      By morning, however, the wind did not die down or change, but became even stronger, and appeared quite easterly. But the good thing was that it beat all the rain clouds out of the sky and behind the mountains.

    A nap elverte a ködöt. ― The sun dispersed the fog.

11. (transitive, of wind or waves) to propel, blow away

    A szél elverte a csónakot. ― The wind blew the boat away.

12. (transitive, dialectal) to thresh (to separate the grain from the straw or husks)

    Synonym: elcsépel

Conjugation

conjugation of elver

			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indica­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	elverek	elversz	elver	elverünk	elvertek	elvernek
		Def.	elverem	elvered	elveri	elverjük	elveritek	elverik
		2nd-p. o.	elverlek	―
	Past	Indef.	elvertem	elvertél	elvert	elvertünk	elvertetek	elvertek
		Def.	elvertem	elverted	elverte	elvertük	elvertétek	elverték
		2nd-p. o.	elvertelek	―
Condi­tional mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	elvernék	elvernél	elverne	elvernénk	elvernétek	elvernének
		Def.	elverném	elvernéd	elverné	elvernénk (or elvernők)	elvernétek	elvernék
		2nd-p. o.	elvernélek	―
Sub­junc­tive mood	Pre­sent	Indef.	elverjek	elverj or elverjél	elverjen	elverjünk	elverjetek	elverjenek
		Def.	elverjem	elverd or elverjed	elverje	elverjük	elverjétek	elverjék
		2nd-p. o.	elverjelek	―
Infinitive	elverni		elvernem	elverned	elvernie	elvernünk	elvernetek	elverniük
Other nonfinite verb forms			Verbal noun	Present participle	Past participle	Future part.	Adverbial part.	Potential
			elverés	elverő	elvert	elverendő	elverve	elverhet

Further reading

• elver in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• elver in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2023)

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

elver m or f

1. indefinite plural of elv

Noun

elver m

1. indefinite plural of elv

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• elvar

Noun

elver f

1. indefinite plural of elv

Alternative forms

• elvar

Noun

elver m

1. indefinite plural of elv