Kobieca cnota. Próba zrozumienia ewolucji znaczenia cnoty na przestrzeni wieków
Feminine virtue. An attempt at understanding the evolution of the meaning of cnota (virtue) over the centuries

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the evolution of the meaning of the Polish lexeme cnota (virtue) starting from the Old Polish to the present time. The starting point is the change in the meaning of the lexeme virtue from the ‘complex of ethical qualities’ in the Old Polish language to the ‘hymen’ in the twentieth century. From the beginning of the Polish language, the lexeme virtue contained a different catalogue of values in relation to men and women. Analysis concerned these meanings which referred to a woman and were related to the valuation not only of the virtue, but also of a woman in general, taking into consideration non-linguistic, social and cultural determinants. The material comes from historical and contemporary Polish language dictionaries. The studies also included the use of lexemes related to the lexem cnota (virtue), such as an adjective cnotliwy (virtuous) or a noun cnotka (would-be virgin, goody-goody), if they concerned the woman‘s virtue. The meaning of the lexeme virtue in relation to a woman was associated with virginity, chastity, considered as a key factor for determining the value of a woman. Such meaning, associated with a positive valuation of virtue persisted until the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, the broad importance of the lexeme virtue has fallen into disuse, the meaning has been narrowed to ‘virginity’. Following this, in connection with social and customary changes, the virtue, already as ‘virginity’, lost its traditional high rating in the category of moral values.

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