Il nostro tesoro quotidiano: il pane. Sul lessico e sulla fraseologia del pane nella lingua ungherese

Bread is everywhere in Hungarian culture, there are numerous traditions, beliefs, idioms, proverbs, literary and artistic works related to it. In this paper I take a metaphorical journey around the Hungarian noun kenyér to discover its secrets and its innumerable uses. The first part of the paper focuses on the possible etymological connections of the Hungarian noun with other languages and lists the first occurrences in the earliest Hungarian texts. Then follow a short description of bread-making and related Hungarian terms and an account of the traditional customs and beliefs concerning this basic food. Another paragraph concerns the most important Hungarian national holiday: St. Stephen's Day, founder of the State, celebrated on August 20th each year. The second part of the paper provides the most frequent surnames and toponyms with kenyér, a wide selection of compounds and expressions containing kenyér as a constituent element, but also other terms referring to the field of bread-making. Finally, I list the different meanings of the Hungarian noun and the corresponding idioms and proverbs.