# kucyk - etymology



## In-Su

Hello,
I've looked online but haven't been able to find the etymology of the Polish word for pony. Can anyone help? Many thanks in advance.


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## zaffy

It is 'kucyk, hardly anyone says 'kuc' at least here in the south of Poland, although it is a synonym.


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## Ben Jamin

*Kuc* is of course the root word, and the derived form *kucyk* (it is a diminutive) is much younger. As far as I know there is no known etymology of this word. I once asked the same question at the forum.
It might be of Asian origin (turkic, uralic or mongolic), as many Polish words related to horses (kary, bułany, bachmat, rumak, etc).


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## nyorai

It's more likely of Belarusian/Russian origin. In Russian куцый [kucyj] means "with a short or cropped tail", it also means "scanty, meagre", which may relate to the size of the animal. The Polish dictionary of etymology states that the word "kuc" is also related to the word "kusy", which in Polish denotes something that is too small, too short etc. "Kusa sukienka" - a dress that is too short or shows too much


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## Ben Jamin

nyorai said:


> It's more likely of Belarusian/Russian origin. In Russian куцый [kucyj] means "with a short or cropped tail", it also means "scanty, meagre", which may relate to the size of the animal. The Polish dictionary of etymology states that the word "kuc" is also related to the word "kusy", which in Polish denotes something that is too small, too short etc. "Kusa sukienka" - a dress that is too short or shows too much


Which dictionary of etymologia are you quoting?


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## marco_2

Well, Brückner also suggests that *kuc(yk) *is related to the word *kusy *- in his day _kucyk _also meant _kaftanik (matinee jacket)_ so something short. And _kusy _(formerly _kęsy_) comes from _kąsać_, so it means that something is short as though it has been bitten off.


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## nyorai

Ben Jamin said:


> Which dictionary of etymologia are you quoting?


The one by Brückner - mind you, only this part is from the dictionary: "the word "kuc" is also related to the word "kusy""; the part of the sentence after the comma is my addition based on how the word "kusy" is used in Polish nowadays.


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## RomanBoukreev

nyorai said:


> It's more likely of Belarusian/Russian origin. In Russian куцый [kucyj] means "with a short or cropped tail", it also means "scanty, meagre", which may relate to the size of the animal. The Polish dictionary of etymology states that the word "kuc" is also related to the word "kusy", which in Polish denotes something that is too small, too short etc. "Kusa sukienka" - a dress that is too short or shows too much


Being a Russian, I think that куцый may work as "kusy" in Polish. In colloquial speech, we may use куцый путь = a small track/road, куцый сад = an almost empty garden. However, I don't think is the style of great literature.


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## Ben Jamin

The te


RomanBoukreev said:


> Being a Russian, I think that куцый may work as "kusy" in Polish. In colloquial speech, we may use куцый путь = a small track/road, куцый сад = an almost empty garden. However, I don't think is the style of great literature.


It is of course fully possible that the word came from Byelorussian, but the native Russian etymology is not so certain.


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## In-Su

Thank you all for your very informative input!

To the mod who changed the thread title: Note that the etymology of *kucyk* is well known--_kuc_ + _-yk_. It is the etymology of *kuc* which is less clear.
kucyk - Wiktionary


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