Polskie dunder
Polish dunder ‘thunder’

Summary/Abstract: The Polish word dunder (earlier also: donder) is only used as a part of the expression niech cię/go/ją dunder świśnie! ‘damn you!, to hell with you/him/her!’, lit. ‘let a thunder strike you/him/her’ (in somewhat older Polish, a phrase like u dondra ‘damn!, (what) the devil!, (what) the hell!’, too, is attested). The only etymology of this word one can find today is that given by A. Brückner in his etymological dictionary (1927): < Germ. Donner ‘thunder’. However, Brückner was satisfied with a blank formulation “nd in lieu of nn” which does not actually explain reasons and the mechanism of change. The aim of this article is to show that it was not a High German word but, instead, the Low German or/and Dutch word donder ~ dunder ‘thunder’ that was borrowed into Polish and used in the expressions mentioned above.

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