Life / Polish Wedding March & Funny Hat [37]

The main points of a traditional Polish wedding are:
-- THE PARENTAL BLESSING (usually at the bride's family home),
-- THE NUPTIAL ITSELF: bride is not 'given away' by her father (she's not a piece of property, after all), but both betrothed walk up to the altar sude by side; wedding bands are placed on the right hand; after the ceremony the bride may place a small bouquet at the side altar to the BVM and kneel and say a prayer there before rejoining hubby

-- THE BREAD AND SALT WELCOME at the wedding reception site
-- AT TABLE: GRACE, BEST MAN'S SPEECH,TOASTS, GORZKO, GORZKO
-- THE BECAPPING CEREMONY (oczepiny -- towards the end of the evening)
-- POPRAWINY - follow-up celebration the next day or even two days (newly weds are on hand to show respect and gratitude to their wedding guests)...

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

POLASKI: topo nick from Polasie (£ódź area)

PU£ASKI: topo nick from Pułazie (Mazowsze region)

PU£AWSKI: topo nick from Puławy (Lublin region)

** All 3 are accompanied by heraldic devices

For more info please contact me

Po polsku / Pomnik ku czci bolszewików? [26]

Nie po raz pierwszy stwierdzam, że wszelka próba dysusji na jakikolwiek temat z Polakami kończy się na dywagacjach w ogóle niezwiązanych z tematem. £apie się rozmówcę za słówka, przyczepia się do ortografii i w efekcie (jak w czeskim filmie) nie wiadomo, o co w końcu chodzi. Czyli cyrk po krzyżem smoleńskim nie jest żadnym wyjątkiem. Cóż -- co kraj to obyczaj!

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

INDECH surname does not exist in Poland at present, but Indych does. My (un)educated guess is that it originated as a misspelt variant of indyk (turkey).

GUZIK: root-word guz (bump, lump, large button); diminutive guzik -- button or small lump. Possibly originated as nick for someone with a visible growth on face, a button-maker or topo nick from Guzew, Guzy, Guzów, etc. (Lumpton, Buttonville)

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

JAKUBEK: hypocoristic (pet) from of Jakub (James, Jacob), hence the equivalent of Jim or Jake.

SZYCA: A szyca is a part of a weaver's loom; also possibly a variant form of syc (miser)???

Genealogy / BIALIK / Bialek, Kotecki, Witucki, Ezdebski Families - Jaslo and Poznan [17]

'Bialika' is OK as acc. sing as in 'Widziałem Bialika'.

BIALIK: Basic root biał~biel (whiteness), could have origianted as a descriptive for soemone with white-blond hair or a topo nick for an inhabitant of Biała, Białka, Białki or similar.

Life / Polish Wedding March & Funny Hat [37]

In the Detroit area at Polish weddings the selction "Pożegnanie Ojczyzny" once served as the "Polsih wedding march", played when guests followed in behind the newly weds to the banquet table. The funny hats or "vegetable hats" were common at Polish weddings in the Buffalo, NY area. I never encountered that custom in SE Michigan.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Perhaps Rosiak originated as a partonymic nick from Rościsław. It should have been Rościak but with names most everything was possible -- things often got mispronounced, added, deleted, twisted, etc..

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

LEBIEDZIŃSKI: root-word probably lebioda -- weaking or pigweed; most likely topo nick from Lebiedzin. A completely different Russian context (лебедь is the word for swan) cannot be ruled out. Perhaps the locality got its name from that Russian source???

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

ROJEWSKI: most likely topo nick from Rojewo. Rój is a swam of bees hornets, wasps or other flying insects, so its English equivalent might be Swarmville Swarmton. Other than living in Rojewo, someone may have been hunmorously nicknamed Rojewski by virtue of constantly being seen with or associated with swarms as in the case of a beekeeper.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

DZIUBCZYŃSKI: root-word dzióbek (little beak); ideal topo match would be Dzióbczyn or Dziubczyn but could only find Dziubiele.

SZOSTKOWSKI: topo nick from Szostek or Szostka.

More info - contact me

Genealogy / Searching for relatives in Leman - Nicewicz, Szczesny, Pycia, Findrick [8]

NICEWICZ: probably variant spelling of patronymic nick Micewicz from Micek, Micuś -- hypocoristic form of Mikołaj (Nicholas); Eng. equivalent Nicholson.

SZCZĘSNY: from first name meaning happy, gay, joyous (Eng. equiavlent Felix)

PYCIA: possibly derived from pyta (cat-o'-nine-tails, whip); or individual hypocoristic form of any first name starting with a 'p', eg Pylyp (form of Filip), Paweł, Pakosław, etc.

FINDRICK: un-Polish spelling; no Fyndryk in Poland either; possibly misspelt version of Fydrych (form of Fryderyk)

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Try cindyslist.com/poland.htm

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

PALICZAK: root-word probably palik (stake) or palica (walking stick, bludgeon, crutch);
-ak is usually a patronymic ending, so maybe it originated to mean the son of somerone nicknamed Palik or Palica???

History / History of Poland in 10 minutes. Really worth seeing! [134]

1,000 years of Poland in a few minutes

A film clip shown at this summer's expo in China touches on the highpoints of Polish history in a super-abbreviated manner. Any comments?

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

MARSKI: mainly a medical term meaning withered, mildewed, rotting; marskość wątroby is cirrhosis of the liver

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

DANELORICH (???): This is not a Polish name. Maybe it has been changed from something like Daniłowicz (which would be Danielson or Danson).

BU£DAN/BO£DAN: the root of these names is the word "bołda" or "bułda" (lump, bump, tumour or somethign enlarged or swollen). No PC back then -- every irregularity was eagerly latched onto and often nicknamed.

BURY: means dark brownish-grey; Burówna would be the version applied to Bury's unmarried daughter. His wife would be Burowa.

History / Destruction of Ukrainian churches in Poland in 1938 [289]

Is this a different Koniuchy? The one now in Lithuania was where bolshevised Jews murdered all the men, women and children of the Polish village of Koniuchy, stole what they could and burnt down the rest.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

KUZIEMSKI or KUZIMSKI are Polish surnames derived from the now obsolete word kuzim (dwarf or midget -- literally born in winter)

Life / Cannabis / Weed in Poland... How much does marijuana cost per gram and how easy is to get it? [355]

Negative side effects commonly reported by GHB users:
dizziness (76%)
blurred vision (74%)
hot/cold flushes (65%)
vomiting (53%)
profuse sweating (58%)
loss of consciousness (50%)
blackouts/memory lapses (45%)
tremors and shakes (47%)
shortness of breath (38%)
headache (38%)
heart palpitations (32%)
fit/seizure (8%)
The long term effects of GHB: addiction (more of the drug needed to get the same effects), loss of coordination due to loss of muscle tone, difficulty concentrating, desire to sleep, deep sedation from which the victim cannot be awakened by any means for about three hours, and in many cases, death.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SZERMIŃSKI: Origin obscure. Possibly variant spelling of Czermiński which topo nick from Czermin or Czermno. (There are nearly 5 times as many Czwermińskis in Poland as Szermińskis!) Less likely derived from the old Rusynak word seremet which evolvded under Turkish rule meaning an angry, confrontational or impolite person.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

If it was orginally GORĄCZKA (pronounced gaw-RUNCH-kah) , that could mean a fever, high tmeperature or heat wave.

History / Destruction of Ukrainian churches in Poland in 1938 [289]

If this is true, then it's deplorable. Any assault on people's religous sites, the most
cherished of human values, is disgraceful. However, one must not be ahistorical. The truncated 2nd republic felt robbed of its pre-partition terriory. Why on earth should the chief aggressor, Russia, get to keep so much of its partition-era spoils. Even what Poland eventually got under Riga had to be wrested back in bloody armed combat. Let's imagine that some historical vicissitude sudddenly wiped your country off the map and 123 years later you got back less than half of what you lost. Apply that to the US, Britain, France or any other country before starting to bash poor Poland!

Seanus,
At lesast the reprot did not mention Orhtodox clergy and fiathful being killed. Ever wonder why the Western media are so silent about the anti-Catholic atrocities being perpetrated at present in India and elswehwere in the Third World? Not only RC clergy and religious but rank and file faithful are murdered, churches and the homes of Catholics are burnt down and other forms of harrassment are employed.

Must be poltical correctness in action!

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

The primary meaning of kutas is a tassle at the end of a cord. All other meanings are secondary. What comes to mind is saying of les Frogues: 'Honi soi qui mal y pense!' (Shame to him who's got a filthy mind).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

I've already answer this somewhere: kuta can mean a hooded monk's habit or a mosquito.
It is also the feminine of the adjective kuty (shod).

Food / Bologna & onions in Poland? [44]

Something like parówkowa indeed.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Banaś, Banach and derivatives Banasiak, Banasiewicz, Banasik, etc. are all traceable to
Banadyk, a peasant dialectic form of the first name Benedykt. Banash would be an atttempt at an English phonetic respelling of Banaś or Banasz. Banasiak, Banasiewicz, and Banasik originated as patronymic nicknames identical in meaning to English Benson (as in Hedges)!

Food / Bologna & onions in Poland? [44]

American ring bologna (in SE Michigan Kowalski's is best!) is similar to Polish mortadela or the serdelek as regards the very finely minced meat filler is liogner, say 15-20" or more. It is sliced into rings and fried up with sliced onions. Ketchup is the usual condiment. Spam, Treet et al are vaguely similar but bologna is more finely minced and is not tinned. With a glass of cold Stroh's it isn't half bad.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

STOLARZ: cabinet-maker; root-word stół (table)

MASTEJ: (pronounced MAH-stay); root-word probably mast- (indicating oiliness, something greasy). The old adj. mastny meant oily. A relic of that root is the current word maść (ointment, salve). For more details contact me