Jak można ulepszyć słowniki etymologiczne
How to Improve the Etymological Dictionaries

Summary/Abstract: For fi fty years the author has pointed out the fact that in all languages the word form has depended on three main factors – not only on a regular phonetic and analogical development but also on, what he calls, an irregular phonetic development caused by frequency. According to his opinion, frequently used word groups, words and morphemes repeatedly experience irregular reductions, e.g. wasza miłość > waszmość, podobno > pono or suffi x in infi nitive in the Old Polish (umrze)-ci > (umrze)-ć. Although the author has devoted three monographs and many articles to that matter, the effects of his activity stay very modest. For example, as far as etymological dictionaries of the Polish language are concerned, the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency is mentioned only 23 times in Bańkowski’s works, 9 times in Boryś’s and 15 times in Długosz-Kurczabowa’s. The author claims that etymological dictionaries would be better if they accounted to a greater extent the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency and he mentions a number of examples: From Proto-Slavonic *estь originated not only Old Polish jeść [to eat] but also contemporary jest [it is]. According to the author, the Old Polish jeść is a regular continuant of Proto-Slavonic *estь, whereas jest originated from *estь as a result of the irregular phonetic development caused by frequency. It is supported by the fact that in the contemporary Polish language there are almost 3500 words ending in -ść (część, sześć, ilość ect.) < Proto-Slavonic *-stь and only one word (jest) in which Proto-Slavonic *-stь experienced the irregular dispalatalization, while the irregular jest is used more often than almost 3500 words ending in regular -ść. Trans. A. Gierba

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