Names of Poland

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(Redirected from
Lechia
)
An 18th century map labeled "Poland"
A Denarius from the 11th century with the Latin name "Polonie".
Poland of 11th century under Bolesław I the Brave.
Annales Quedlinburgenses
.
11th century „Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum Adam of Bremen note Polans "trans Oddaram sunt Polanos".

The

endonyms (the way Polish people refer to themselves and their country) and exonyms (the way other peoples refer to the Poles and their country). Endonyms and most exonyms for Poles and Poland derive from the name of the West Slavic tribe of Polans (Polanie), while in some languages the exonyms for Poland to derive from the name of another tribe – the Lendians
(Lędzianie).

Endonyms

The Polish words for a Pole are Polak (masculine) and Polka (feminine), Polki being the plural form for two or more women and Polacy being the plural form for the rest. The adjective "Polish" translates to Polish as polski (masculine), polska (feminine) and polskie (neuter). The common Polish name for Poland is Polska. The latter Polish word is an adjectival form which has developed into a substantive noun, most probably originating in the phrase polska ziemia, meaning "Polish land".[3]

Rzeczpospolita

The full official name of the Polish state is Rzeczpospolita Polska which translates to "Republic of Poland". The word rzeczpospolita has been used in Poland since at least the 16th century. Originally it was a generic term used to denote any state with a republican or similar form of government. Today, however, the word is used almost solely in reference to the Polish State. Any other republic is referred to as republika in modern Polish.

Language roots

It is often assumed that all of the above names derive from the name of the

Proto-Slavic and Proto-Indo-European. It may derive from the word pole, Polish for "field".[4]

Many ancient tribes in Europe derived their names from the nature of the land they inhabited.

feudal state and in the early 11th century, the name Polska was extended to the entire ethnically Polish territory. The lands originally inhabited by the Polans became known as Staropolska, or "Old Poland", and later as Wielkopolska, or "Greater Poland", while the lands conquered towards the end of the 10th century, home of the Vistulans (Wiślanie) and the Lendians, became known as Małopolska, or "Lesser Poland
."

In Polish literature, Poland is sometimes referred to as

founder of Poland. In the 17th–18th centuries, Sarmaci ("Sarmatians") was a popular name by which Polish nobles referred to themselves (see Sarmatism
).

"Poland" in European literary sources

The earliest recorded mention of "Poland" is found in a Latin text written in 1003 and titled "Annales Hildesheimenses": "Heinricus Berthaldi comitis filius, et Bruno frater regis, et ambo Bolizavones, Polianicus vide licet ac Boemicus, a rege infideliter maiestatis rei deficient." In English: Henry, son of Berthold, and Bruno, brother of the king, and both Boleslaws, Polish and Czech, left the circle of friends of the Emperor.[5]

Lechia

Lech
, with the description: "Lech the first prince of Poland"

Lechia is an ancient name of Poland,[6][7] stemming from the legendary founder and supposed ruler, Lech (a common first name today). The root syllable survives in several European languages and in some Central Asian and Middle Eastern names designating Poland, for example:

Similar names were used in older languages, such as:

  • Lechitarum in
    Latin
  • Leasir in
    Old Norse

Several Polish sports organizations have adopted the name Lechia. The best-known example is

People's Republic of Poland, the Nivea branch located in Poznań
was named the Pollena-Lechia Cosmetics Factory (Fabryka Kosmetyków Pollena-Lechia).

Exonyms

Variations of the country endonym Polska became exonyms in other languages.

In Slavic languages

Exonyms for Poland in Slavic languages. The West Slavic languages such as Czech and Slovak bear particular resemblance to the Polish endonym:

Non-Germanic languages which borrowed their word for Poland from Slavic include:

In Romance languages

In Latin, which was the principal written language of the Middle Ages, the exonym for Poland became Polonia. It later became the basis for Poland's name in all Romance languages:

Many other languages (e.g.

Arabic بولونيا Būlūniyā; Greek Πολωνία, Polōnía; Maltese
Polonja) use a variation of the Latin name.

In Germanic languages

Germans, Poland's western neighbors, called it Polen. Other Germanic languages use related exonyms:

  • Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian Polen
  • English Poland
  • Icelandic, Faroese Pólland
  • Yiddish
    פּױלן‎, Poyln

Non-Germanic languages which borrowed their word for Poland from Germanic include:

  • Arabic
    بولندا, Būlandā
  • Esperanto
    Pollando, Polio / Polujo
  • Hebrew פּוֹלִין‎, Polín (Older pronunciation: פּוֹלִיןPólin and פּוֹלַנְיָהPolánia)
  • Indonesian Polandia
  • Irish An Pholainn
  • Japanese ポーランド, Pōrando
  • Chinese 波兰 (simplified) or 波蘭 (traditional), Bōlán
  • South Korean standard language 폴란드, Pollandeu
  • Vietnamese Ba Lan (Ba Lan)

Other

The

San (south-eastern Poland), are the source of another exonym. The tribe's name likely comes from the Proto-Polish word lęda, or "scorched land".[3]
Their name was borrowed to refer to Poland mainly by peoples who lived east or south of Poland:

Related words

Some common English words, as well as scientific nomenclature, derive from exonyms of Poland in various languages.

  • Alla polacca
    , like a polonaise (in musical notation); Italian for "Polish style"
  • Polacca, a type of 17th-century sailing vessel
  • Polka, a dance and genre of dance music originally from Bohemia; Czech (also Polish) "Pole" (feminine)
  • Polonaise, several meanings including a dance of Polish origin; from French polonaise, "Polish" (feminine)
  • Pologne, several meanings including Polish Haitians, from French name for Poland
  • 1112 Polonia, an asteroid; from Latin Polonia, "Poland"
  • Polonium, a chemical element; from Latin Polonia
  • Polska, a dance of Swedish origin; from Swedish polska, "Polish"
  • Poulaines, a type of shoes popular in the 15th century in Europe; from Old French polain, "Polish"
  • Polonia, the term to describe people of Polish origin living outside of Poland and in other countries.

See also

References

  1. ^ Polani by John Canaparius, Vita sancti Adalberti episcopi Pragensis, or Life of St. Adalbert of Prague, 999.
  2. ^ Polenia by Thietmar of Merseburg Chronicle, 1002. (German: Polen)
  3. ^ a b (in Polish) Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN
  4. ^ "fr. pal, pele, altd. pal, pael, dn. pael, sw. pale, isl. pall, bre. pal, peul, it. polo, pole, pila, [in:] A dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon languages. Joseph Bosworth. S.275.; planus, plain, flat; from Indo-European pele, flat, to spread, also the root of words like plan, floor, and field. [in:] John Hejduk. Soundings. 1993. p. 399"; "the root pele is the source of the English words "field" and "floor". The root "plak" is the source of the English word "flake" [in:] Loren Edward Meierding. Ace the Verbal on the SAT. 2005. p. 82
  5. ISBN 978-83-930932-9-8{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  6. second palatalization
    " and the addition of the regular Norse plural ending of -ir- [...] [in:] The Ukrainian review. 1963. p. 70
  7. ^
    Western Slavs
    ' (cf. Old Rus'ian ljaxy) [...].
  8. .
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ (in Turkish) Lehistan in Turkish Wikipedia

External links

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