GŁÓD NIEFIZYCZNY, CZYLI O ZNACZENIU WYRAŻEŃ GŁODNY [CZEGOŚ], SPRAGNIONY [CZEGOŚ] I ŻĄDNY [CZEGOŚ]
Non-physical hunger – on the meaning of expressions: głodny [czegoś] (hungry [for something]), spragniony [czegoś] (thirsty [for something]) and żądny [czegoś] (greedy [for something])

Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on the adjectives głodny (hungry), spragniony (thirsty) and żądny (greedy), which appear in contexts which are not typical of their common usage. While sentences like On jest głodny/spragniony (He is hungry/thirsty) with the adjective as a predicative expression, and adjectival phrases such as głodny/spragniony wędrowiec (hungry/thirsty wanderer) are instances of typical usage, głodny czegoś (hungry for something), spragniony czegoś (thirsty for something), żądny czegoś (greedy for something), are untypical, and the last expression appears only in such a form. Tentatively, the author perceives the analysed adjectives as indicators of the will of the experiencer. The phrases are units of language (as defi ned by Andrzej Bogusławski, see Bogusławski 1976) different than one-segment expressions głodny and spragniony, although historically they refer to words such as głód, pragnienie, żądza/żądanie (hunger, thirst, greed, respectively). However, acknowledging the lexical independence of the units does not mean that the analysed units, as regards their content, are set apart from the expressions from which they are derived. The research is aimed at characterising their semantic properties, as well as determining relationships among them (deciding whether they are equivalent in meaning), establishing their relationship with the semantically simple verb chcieć (ktoś chce czegoś) (to want (someone wants something)), and – as a consequence – making an attempt at explicating their meanings.

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