Having spent some time reading a book about Austria and Hungary, which I bought not long ago, I skim through the pages ahead. All of a sudden, I light upon a mention of brigands and bandits of Hungary—the “notorious” betyárs.[1] I am stunned by the Hungarian word. In Croatian transliteration, where “ty” is replaced by a “ć” that is pronounced as “ch,” the word stands for a happy-go-lucky fellow who spends his time drinking, singing, and chasing after girls. It is most popular in Slavonia to the south of Hungary. I am immediately reminded of the Turkish word for brigand or bandit, haydut, which is also used with quite some pride across Croatia, albeit with a “k” in place of the “t.” One of the topmost soccer teams in the country, this time from Dalmatia along the Adriatic coast, bears this felicitous name. Shaking my head, I pick up a ballpoint pen and scribble in the book’s margin a few carefully considered words: “Is there a single word of worth among Slavs that is actually of Slavic origin?!”

Addendum (October 3, 2012)

Yes, there is such a word, as I just remembered a short while ago (“Uskok,” October 3, 2012). There can be no doubt about its Croatian origin, either. Interestingly, it is yet another name for brigands and bandits, this time from the Adriatic coast. In Croatian, this is a word of worth par excellence. Forever between foreign powers, they relished looting them whenever a chance appeared. And this attitude remains to this very day, when the only power still around is their own. Oops, there is the European Union, as well.

Footnote

1. Evans, R.J.W., Austria, Hungary, and the Habsburgs: Essays on Central Europe, c. 1683-1867, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 169.