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English words of Polish origin



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"Kielbasa" derives from a generic Polish word for a sausageThis is a list English words of Polish origin, that is words used in the English language that were borrowed or derived, either directly or indirectly, from Polish. Several Polish words have entered English slang via Yiddish, brought by Ashkenazi Jews migrating from Poland to North America. Other English words were indirectly derived from Polish via Russian or West European languages, such as French, German or Dutch. The Polish words themselves often come from other languages, such as German or Turkish. Borrowings from Polish tend to be mostly words referring to staples of Polish cuisine, names of Polish folk dances or specialist, e.g. horse-related, terminology. Among the words of Polish origin there are several words that derive from Polish geographic names and ethnonyms, including the name Polska, "Poland", itself.

Contents

Derived from common words

Word Meaning Etymology
Babka, baba A leavened coffee or rum cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins Polish babka, a yeast cake ← diminutive of baba, "old woman"
Bigos A Polish stew made with meat and cabbage Polish bigos ← possibly German begossen, "doused"
Britzka, britska A type of horse-drawn carriage Polish bryczka ← diminutive of bryka, "wagon"
Gherkin A small cucumber Dutch gurken, plural of gurk, "cucumber" ← East Frisian augurk ← possibly Polish ogórek ← possibly Medieval Greek αγγούριον, angourion ← possibly Persian angārah
Hetman Historically, a Polish, Czech or Cossak military leader Ukrainian гетьман, get'man ← Polish hetmanCzech hejtmanGerman HauptmannMiddle High German houbet, "head" + man, "man"
Horde A nomadic tribe; a crowd or swarm Middle French horde ← Polish hordaNorth-West Turkic ordï, "camp" or "residence"
Kielbasa A spicy smoked Polish sausage Polish kiełbasa, "sausage" ← Turkish kül bastï, "grilled cutlet", literally "pressed on the ashes"
Konik A horse breed Polish konik ← diminutive of koń, "horse"
Nudge, noodge, nudzh To annoy, pester Yiddish nudyen, "to pester, bore" ← Polish nudzić
Ogonek A hook-shaped diacritic Polish ogonek ← diminutive of ogon, "tail"
Paczki A Polish jelly doughnut Polish pączki, plural of pączek ← diminutive of pąk, "bud"
Pierogi A semicircular dumpling of unleavened dough with any of various fillings Polish pierogi, plural of pieróg, "dumpling"
Rendzina A dark, grayish-brown soil that develops under grass on limestone and chalk Polish rędzinarzędzić, "to chat"
Sejm Polish diet or parliament Polish sejm, "diet" or "assembly"
Schav A sorrel soup Yiddish שטשאַוו, shtshav, "sorrel" ← Polish szczaw
Schlub, shlub A clumsy, stupid or unattractive person Yiddish zhlob or zhlub, "yokel", "boor" ← Polish żłób, "manger"
Schmatte A rag Yiddish shmate ← Polish szmata
Schmuck, shmuck A clumsy or stupid person Yiddish shmok, vulgar for "penis" ← Polish smok, "dragon"
Uhlan, ulan A cavalryman German Uhlan ← Polish ułan ← Turkish oğlan, "boy" or "servant"
Zloty Polish currency Polish złoty, "golden"

Derived from geographic names and ethnonyms

Word Meaning Etymology
Alla polacca Like a polonaise (in musical notation) Italian alla polacca, "in the Polish manner, Polish style"
Bialy A flat, round baked roll or bagel topped with onion flakes Yiddish bialy ← short for bialystoker, "of Białystok", a town in north-eastern Poland
Cracovian A mathematical symbol used in cracovian calculus Polish krakowianKraków, a city in southern Poland, former capital
Cracovienne, krakowiak A lively Polish folk dance French (danse) cracovienne, "Kraków (dance)", feminine of cracovien, "of Kraków"; Polish krakowiak, "inhabitant of Kraków"
Crackowe, cracowe, crakow, crakowe, A long, pointed shoe popular in the 14th-15th centuries Middle English crakowe ← Cracow, the English name of Kraków
Czech Of or related to the Czech Republic or its people Polish Czech, "a Czech or Bohemian man" ← Czech čech
Mazurka A Polish dance or a piece of music for such a dance Russian мазурка, mazurka ← Polish (tańczyć) mazurka, "(to dance) the mazurka", accusative of mazurek ← diminutive of Mazur, "inhabitant of Masovia or Masuria", regions in north-eastern Poland
Polack A Pole; formerly a neutral term, now considered offensive Polish Polak, "Pole"
Polonaise A stately, marchlike Polish dance or a piece of music for such a dance French (danse) polonaise, "Polish (dance)", feminine of polonais, "Polish"
Polonaise A woman's overdress popular in the 18th century French (robe à la) polonaise, "Polish (style dress)", feminine of polonais, "Polish"
Polonaise Sprinkled with browned butter and bread crumbs (of food, mostly vegetables) French polonaise, feminine of polonais, "Polish"
Polonium Chemical element with atomic number 84 Medieval Latin Polonia, "Poland"
Polska A Scandinavian folk dance or a piece of music for such a dance Swedish polska ← feminine of polsk, "Polish"
Poulaine (The pointed toe of) a crackowe Middle French (soulier à la) poulaine, "Polish (style shoe)" ← feminine of poulain, "Polish"
Silesaurus An extinct genus of dinosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic Medieval Latin Silesia ← Polish Śląsk, a region in south-western Poland + Classical Greek saura, "lizard"
Varsoviana, varsovienne A graceful dance similar to a mazurka Spanish varsoviana ← feminine of varsoviano; French varsovienne ← feminine of varsovien; both from Medieval Latin varsovianus, "of Warsaw" (Polish: Warszawa), the capital city of Poland

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Published - February 2009


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