cickány

First attested in 1800. Encountered first in science writers, considered mediated by a transcription in scientific literature such as tsitskan or Zyzkan of a descendant of Proto-Turkic *sïčgan (“mouse”), but also close to Romanian chițcan (“shrew”). With Hungarian ending in analogy to other words like patkány (“rat”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sit͡skaːɲ]
• Hyphenation: cic‧kány

cickány (plural cickányok)

1. shrew (mammals of the family Soricidae)

• cickány in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• cickány 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)
• Berta, Árpád (2009), “On the Origin of Hungarian cickány ‘shrew (soricidae)’”, in International Journal of Central Asian Studies‎, volume 13, pages 67–76
• Donndorff, Johann August (1792) Zoologische Beyträge zur XIII. Ausgabe des Linnéischen Natursystems, volume 1, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, page 817b, transcribing a “Tatar” Rattus as Zyzkan
• cickány in Gerstner, Károly (ed.). Új magyar etimológiai szótár. (’New Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian’). Beta version. Budapest, MTA Nyelvtudományi Intézet / ELKH Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont, 2011–2022. (Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungary).
• Pallas, Peter Simon (1778) Novae species quadrupedum e Glirium ordine, cum illustrationibus variis complurium ex hoc ordine animalium (in Latin), Erlangen: Wolfgang Walther, page 328 transcribing a Tatar term, dshilkissitskan, for Mus vagus, which is apparently the southern birch mouse Sicista subtilis. This transcription is often taken as the origin: later zoology books transcribe dshilkis-tsitskan.