English words of Polish origin
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 This
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.
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 hetman ← Czech hejtman ← German Hauptmann ← Middle High German houbet, "head" + man, "man" |
| Horde |
A nomadic tribe; a crowd or swarm |
Middle French horde ← Polish horda ← North-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 rędzina ← rzędzić, "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 krakowian ← Kraków, 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 |
References
See all linguistics glossaries:
Published - February 2009
This
glossary is available under the terms
of the GNU Free Documentation
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