Word of the Day

Monday, February 13, 2017

Koedukált öltöző

On a recent trip to Budapest I noticed a sign in a public bath with the words Koedukált
öltöző
(unisex changing rooms). What caught my attention was the use of koedukált, clearly related to English coeducation. Education in a changing room? What happened is that the term was originally used for schools attended by both boys and girls. Couple with the fact that the reference to education in the word koedukált is not very transparent to many (most?) Hungarians, as their native words are képzettség or műveltség, the word has extended its use to any place, not only schools, that can be attended by people of any gender.