This article attempts to establish the etymology of the Polish dialectal name czyżma, which refers to common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare L. This name occurs in the Suwałki region. The analysis conducted ...shows that the Polish dial. czyżma 'tansy' and Polish ciżma 'type of shoe used in the old days' have nothing to do with each other. The Suwałki dialectal name of tansy is a loanword from Lithuanian. It comes from the Lithuanian čižmà 'common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare L.'. The Lithuanian form is most likely a derivative of the verb čìžti, and its semantic motivation is the density (compactness) of the plant's inflorescences or stiffness of its stems.
The article claims that many Polish dialectal plant names are not folk in their origin. The only way
to ascertain the true origin of a given name is by analysing the history of the dialectal name and ...the related names in other languages. Such analysis leads to the conclusion that Polish dialectal names have various origins. A part of them constitute truly dialectal names, i.e. such that originate from Polish dialects, another group consists of colloquial non-dialectal native names that have been adopted by given dialects, if they are relatively new or have been inherited. Yet another part comprises relatively new borrowings, and new calques. Yet another group originates from Old Polish forms no longer in use in non-dialectal Polish. The latter do not comprise a homogenous collection. They fall into three subgroups: Polish names originating in the Polish language or inherited from Old Slavic, old loanwords in use in Old Polish and no longer in use today with the exception of Polish dialects, and finally, there is also the often misclassified group of old calques. The recapitulation of this work emphasises the importance of a diachronic and comparative approach to the analysis of dialectal plant names. It highlights the existence of numerous calques, especially old ones, whose presence was previously overlooked due to their native and sometimes even truly dialectal character. Therefore, a superficial, synchronic analysis does not reveal their long and rich history, and the fact that they have their counterparts also in non-Slavic languages and often originate in antiquity.
The article discusses the influence of ecclesiastical language on standard Polish. It first presents the the faults of this variety, and then some examples of the ecclesiastical vocabulary. The ...author examines in particular one verb that is typical of contemporary ecclesiastical language, ubogacać (się) / ubogacić (się) ‘to enrich (oneself)’. She analyses its historical and present day meaning, its history and the contexts in which it is used, and observes that it has spread out onto standard Polish.
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