MAGYARS

magyars, the name of the dominant race in hungary, or hungarians proper. though they have become physically assimilated to the western peoples, they belong in origin and language to the finno-ugrian (q.v.) division of the ural-altaic race. they form barely half of the population of hungary, but are by far the largest and most compact of all its racial groups. magyar is the official language of hungary, the official name of which (_magyarorzag_, or "country of the magyars") enshrines the magyar claim to predominance. while all magyars are properly hungarians, all hungarians are not necessarily magyars. "hungarian" may be used as a generic term covering all the various races of hungary, while "magyar" is strictly specific to a single group. the magyars themselves, indeed, sometimes apply the name _magyarorzag_ to hungary "proper," excluding croatia-slavonia, the whole kingdom being called _magyarbirodalom_, the magyar monarchy or realm. see hungary.