Life / POLES FIND CZECH FUNNY! [42]

Na Zachode ne noviny is how Czechs joke the title should sound in Polish, as rendered in fractured Czech. I know it get's complicated because several levels are involved.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Its root is definitely głowa (head). It could have been a nickname as in Jędrek Głowacki (Big-headed Andy) or a toponmyic nickname derived from such localities as Głowa, Głowy, Głowno, Głowaczów, etc. (roughly: Headville, Headbury, Headmont).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

HERSZKOWICZ
This is a patronymic form derived from the Jewish first name Hirsz, Hersz, Girsz, Gersz, Herszel, Herszko, etc. (from German/Yiddish Hirsch = stag). There is no one correct form, only variants. The famous compsoer Gershwin traces his surname to the same root. Naturally, it can be spelt the English (Hirsh, Hersh, Gersh, etc.) or German (Hirsch, Hersch, Gersch) way. The famous composer Gershwin traces his surname to the same root.

PĄCZEK/PONCZEK
Pączek is the original spelling and Ponczek and was a typcial example of how many Polish immigrants phonetically respelt their surnames in America to retain something close to the original.

Without that change the person would have to go through life being called PAY-zack.
You know how little kids in school would taunt someone like that: "Don't pay Zack, pay Bill or Tom!"
The primary meaning of pączek is a flower bud, the doughnut is a secondary meaning.

Food / Polish recipe for booyah [26]

Maybe bulion?

Life / Polish Nursery Rhymes [243]

nieboraczek is diminutive of nieborak = poor wretch, poor soul

Genealogy / Looking for Polish Spelling of Last Name [13]

Couldn't find aynthign even close: Nieświerk, Nieświk, Nieszwierg...
Looks Germanic or Yiddish. Were yoru ancestors ethnic Poles?

Genealogy / looking for Bagadinski, Bagadzinska, Berglind [17]

There are 64 Bagadzińskis in Poland, 23 of them in the Poznań area, the single largest cluster. Origin is uncertain. "Bag" root usually has to bo with a swamp as in Bagiński, but the "bagad" root doesn't seem to fit anything known in the language. There is a locality called Bagdad in the Piła area (north of Poznań) which might have generated Bagadziński. There is also a Bagdziński surname which is even closer to Bagdad (no inserted "a" bethween the "g" and "d").

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

More than 2,000 people in Poland use the Pączek surname, whilst fewer than 300 spell it Ponczek. Names have been subject to all kinds of inadvertent misspellings and deliberate respelligns as well as numerous otehr modifciatons. There are some people in Poland named Dembek but that does nto change teh fact that the original seżplling had been Dębek. One msut remember that most people were illiterate centuries ago, and even many village scribes and parish preists were semi-literate at best. Then the clerks of the partitioning powers took over... After Poland regained her freedom (1918) and literacy had improved considerably, some Poels restored the original spelling of their names, but others did not.

Food / YOUR FAVOURITE POLISH EASTER FOODS? [23]

Sos wielkanocny aka sos do święconego is similar to tartar sauce but also contains chopped hard-boiled eggs, horseradish, chives and often finely minced or grated radishes.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Dudek -- Hoopoe, Old World bird species; colloquially a fool; also possible toponymic sources such as Dudki.


Brcik looks Czech. They love such words. Smrt is Czech for death (Polish: śmierć).
The Brcik name has been recorded in Poland but no-one bears it at present. There is one person named Bercik living in the Katowice area (which borders on Bohemia) and 2 Burciks living in the Warsaw area. It is not inconceivable that some Brcik added a vowel to make his name sound less strange in Poland.

Genealogy / Surnames: Sierzputowski & Skrocki [25]

SIERZPUTOWSKI -- toponymic nickname identifying someone as a resident of Sierzputy (4 such places in the £omża area of the Podalsie region). The name comes from sierzp, archaic for sierp (sickle), so the rough English equivalent might be Sickleton.

SKROCKI -- respelling of Skrodzki surname, probably a toponymic from the lcoality of Skrodzkie in Podlasie region; name probably from archaic dialectic verb skrodzić (to break up clods of earth with a harrow after ploughing).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Bercik could also be the diminutive or Berthold. But someone who came from Bohemia and was called Brcik migth have inserted a vowel to avoid snide comments and ridicule in a Polish-speaking area. Only a hypothesis!

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]

Thread attached on merging:
ANY LAUNDROMATS IN POLAND?

Since Poland shifted to capitalism 20 years ago, nearly every business niche seems to have been filled. One thing still not too commonis the lkauindromat. With the gorwing ranks of singles on the market, wouldn't this go over? Of course, there are conventional laundries where you take your shirts and things to be laundered. Anyone know of any coin-operated laundromats in Poland?

Another unfilled niche iss the fish&chips joint.

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]

Sorry. On the few occasions I typed something in the search box, nothing happened, so I kind of got out of the habit. Besides, I didn't recall ever reading about laundromats on the forum.

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]

This has been going on for ages, but, since patience is a Christian value, here goes again: busha, busia, babci or bobchee are all in substandard Anglo-Polish jargon used in some US Polonian families, BYT THEY ARE NOT IN POLISH! The Polish word for grandmother is babka and popular hypocoristic forsm include babcia, babunia and

babuleńka.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


Preusser or Preußer = Prussian

Gęślicki from gęśla -- an ancient zither-like 3-stringed instrument


Rychcik -- toponymic nickname from Rychcik or Rychciki; possibly from rychtować (dialectic to repair, set right, settle, mend) -- possible nickname of a Mr Fix-it


Skibicki-- toponymic nickname from Skibice (Furrowville)

Genealogy / Last name Los (Łoś) from Bialystok, also: Moskal, Zoltek, Starzec - Galicia, Kolbuszowa [18]

Thread attached on merging:
ŻÓ£TEK, £OŚ, BAJKOWSKI, SZURPICKI et al SURNAMES

Żółtek – possibly a nickname given someone suffering from jaundice or a resident of Żółtki (Yellowville); in contemproary Polish this is a pejroative term for an oriental (slit-eye)

Starzec – old person, oldster; possible toponymic from Starce, Starzyno, Starczewo (Oldburg, Oldenton)

Los – fate, destiny or lottery ticket; £os– elk (N. America – moose); possible toponymic from £osie, £osin, £osice (Elkville, Elkwood)

Bajkowski – toponymic nickname from Bajki or Bajków (Storyville, Fableton); bajka = story or fable

Szurpicki – toponymic from Szurpice (Featherton, Slovenville); probably derived from szurpa (peasant dialect) for a curly-featured fowl or slovenly housewife

Gil – bullfinch; possibly toponymic grom Giłów or Gilówek (Finchville)

Genealogy / Kaczorowski [3]

Kaczorowski probably arose as a toponymic nickname for an inhabitant of Kaczorów or Kaczorowo (Drakeville).
A kaczor is a drake (male duck).

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

Cholera was once considered quite rude so it was replaced by the euphemism choroba. Go figure.
Just as do diaska replaced do diabła, regarded as a very strong oath.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

The absence of diacritical marks makes it impossible to even begin researching this surname. The names Zaleński as well as Załęski both exist in Poland. Also Zalenski wouldd be the way an immigrant might phoneticlaly respell Zalęski, Załęski and Żałęski. All these versions have different roots. If possibnle, check the immigrant's Odl World vital documents.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Rybicki is the adjectivał form of rybik -- silverfish, small insects founds in bathrooms, shower stalls, etc. Also possibly toponymic from places like Rybice or Rybiczyzna.

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

Sorry, I misphrased things. I did not intend to suggest that choroba has replaced or displaced cholera which is very much alive. I wanted to say choroba was once used by those who felt cholera was too strong. Mea maxima culpa for my lack of clarity!

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]


Piast was the name of Poland's founding dynasty. The term Piast was used to mean any native Polish candidate to the throne as opposed to a foreigner.

Piaścik is the diminutive form which possibly meant princeling. Or a toponymic nickname for someone from Piastów or Piastowo.
There are probbaly more nobles with -ski ending surnames, but that does not mean that all -skis were well-born.

Babicz - metronymic (son of an unwed mother)

Frankiewicz - patronymic (Frank's boy)

Bąk - horsefly, top (child's spinning toy), little tyke

Razkowski - probably Raszkowski (toponymic from Raszków)


bór~bor is a coniferous forest, someone living in or near oen or from a locality called Bory or Borki (Forestville, Forestwood, etc.) might have been nicknamed Borek. When he fathered a son, neighbours could well have dubbed the offspring Borczak, Borkiewicz, Borewicz or Borczyk (patronymic nicknames can be quite prolific in Polish).


Dunno if there's anyone on this forum with your sunrmae, but in Poland more than 7,600 people answer to Ruciński. Root is ruta~rucina (myrtle -- a herb associated with marriage and spinsterhood); possibly arose as toponymic nicname from the locality of Ruciany (Myrtleville?)


Seidowsky is not a Polish spelling. Could it have originally been Sajdowski?


Skłodowski -- toponymic from a place called Skłody (dialectic for sk$ady -- storage sheds)
Ordon -- probably from orda (horde); the Złota Orda was a Tatar-Mongolian state set up in the 13th century; name well-known in Polish culture thanks ia to Mickiewicz's poem Reduta Ordona (Ordon's Redoubt)

£ącka -- dialectic (mazurianised pronunciation) for łączka (meadow)


Most liklely a toponymic nickname for an inhabitant of Skórzew or Skórzewo (probably derived from skóra -- leather, hide, skin, hence Hideville, Leatherton, etc.)


Korab is an archaic Polish word for boat, ark, barge (still used in Russian and other Slavonic tongues). It is also the crest-name of a Polish coat of arms which depicts a boat with a tower at its center. Conflicitng legends place its origin in Germany, England or even ancient Rome. One version contends that the Roman Emperor Justinian (527-65) granted such emblems to his warriors who had successfully sailed such ships up the Danube into the lands of the Slavs and/or Huns.


Re Szczerbacki, it is the exact same name except that one if written in Cyrillic script: Щербацкий, the other the Polish way -- Szczerbacki.
BTW, note the efficiency and economy of Russian which compresses the szcz sound into a single letter: Щ

Life / What can citizens do to make Poland a better place to live? [125]

Re the cartoon of the drowning man calling for help, it just got me to thinking that not so long ago the British were looked upon world-wide as the epitome of all that is prim and proper, decorum to the hilt, polite, reserved, couretous, restrained and famaous for the gross understatemet. And then we have the yob slobs that now descend on Kraków and Wrocław for stag nights...

Can any of you Brits clue me in on when exactly that change took place. I've got the impression it was around the time of the Queens' silver anniversary when some dingbat rock-shlock group starting saying "F--- the Queen!" Grateful for any insights.

Food / Barszcz czerwony recipe (Beetroot Soup) [48]

Making zakwas buraczany (beetroot sour) is a normal Polish culinary procedure but usually a slice or crust of whole-rye bread is added to the fermenation solution instead of the yeast.

History / What Was Poland like in the year 1988? [50]

If you talk to people who were adults at that time --- not commies in privileged positions but ordinary Catholic Poles -- you get a wide spread of views. Although economically things were tough and shortages widespread, many people claim there was a friendlier overall ambience. People really enjoyed themselves at nameday parties, told jokes, and raised successive humorous toasts. And the ham you had to queue for for hours really tasted better and was really appreciated by all (probably also because it wasn't the soy-infused fake food you get nowadays). In fact, one company a few years ago put out a ham called "Szynka jak za Gierka" (ham like in the Gierek era -- 1970s). Back then, people were more family-minded, kids showed more respect for their parents and elders in general, and there was a stronger sense of popular solidarity -- we the people v them, the ruling regime. Togetherness was also reflected by drinking habits. Nowadays everybody clutches onto his own, selfish, little drink – cocktail, Tequila, wine, whisky, vodka, beer, but back then everybody drank the same thing in successive down-the-hatch rounds (ladies were permitted to sip[ a sweet cordial like wiśniówka), bitten down with some zagrycha. Wine, mead, beer, brandy and many other assorted tipples were available back then, but it simply wasn’t the style to cradle one’s own, separate drink.

Of course, the politically minded stressed the negative aspects: the perpetually ruling PZPR (commie) party, secret police surveillance, official censorship, privileges for the regime's supporters, reprisals against its detractors and opponents, etc.

One thing more -- those who were adults back then were 20 years younger and enjoyed life as only the young can and nostalgically recall its fonder moments.

Life / Womans day in Poland? [242]

I thought Święto Kobiec (8th March) was a commie invention that Poles have scrubbed the way they have 22nd July (commie take-over day). It surely cannot be celebrated as widely as it was under communism, can it?