# words with Latin roots



## drei_lengua

Cześć everyone,

I noticed the word okulary for glasses which sounds like ocular, having to do with the eyes, from Latin.  Do you know any more Polish words that have a Latin background?

Dzękuję,
Drei


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## Marga H

Dzień dobry!
The topic of your post is very interesting!However it is difficult to reply you because of "embarras de richesse"Polish language has lots of words with Latin roots ,in days of old it was the language of educated people.Maybe is a special field which are you interested in?
Pozdrowienia!
To bardzo interesujący temat!Trudno jednak odpowiedzieć na twój post,bo takich słów jest w języku poskim bardzo dużo.(Łacina była kiedyś językiem ludzi wykształconych.)Może jakaś dziedzina szczególnie Cię interesuje?


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## Thomas1

I think medicine is a real realm of _Latinisms_ (e.g. medycyna, bronchit, astma, diabetyk and many others) but this is the case with many languages, I think. Although, many words are used in common parlance too.

Law is another one as well as physics and chemistry but if you are talking about everyday usage-- it is quite hard to say which words are of Latin origin without looking into a dictionary.

Here are a few (I guess):
matematyka, materia, ornament, poemat, fiskus

I've got the impression that we had a similar thread already...

Tom


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## Seana

Hello, 

Yes, Thomas is right. I remember this thread *Polish: words with Latin roots *was opened by *drei_lengua**.* It even inspired me to starting my own *Polish: roots and influences* about other roots and influences in Polish language.
I have seen it as a very interesting topic but unfortunately it has finished without the success. 
Polish language was/is the one which was subjected by various influences mostly as a result of its very complicated history within centuries.
Before Polish statehood and Christian order were established, Polish existed only as a spoken language. Adopting the Latin alphabet, made it possible to write down, but the first manuscripts have written by the best educated Polish clergymen in Latin.
Latin started to influence Polish and incorporated religious and liturgical vocabulary, often via Czech and German. 
When borrowing Latin words we have chnged their spelling, for example, the Latin suffix spelled '-tio - tia' to '-cja'. 
_inaugura*tio*_,inaugura*cja*
_devasta*tio*_,dewasta*cja*
_frequen*tia*- _*frekwencja*
the digraph '*qu*' becomes '*kw*' _quadrant - _kwadrant.
_admiralis- admiral_
_crimen_ - kryminal 
_conservativus_ -konserwatywny 
_secretum_ - sekret - 
_emigratio_ - emigracja -
_personalia_ - personalne
etc. etc...
In Polish dictionary there are loads of words with Latin origin but French and Greek as well.


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## Starr

Dom - house


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## Frank06

Hi,

I think it is necessary to make a distinction between Greek and Latin in the first place. Quite some words given already seem to have Greek origins. (Though quite some Greek words did arrive in other languages via Latin.)

Secondly, one should also distinguish between loan words and inherited words with (very similarly looking) cognates in other languages.
I strongly doubt that 'dom' is a loan word from Latin (at least, if I correctly interpret the data found here, in the _Slavic Inherited Lexicon_).
Proto-Slavic *domú* and Latin *domus* are cognates, which mean they both go back to the same Proto-Indo-European word/root. Otherwise said, Proto-Slavic domú, Polish dom don't have Latin roots.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Seana

Hello Frank,

I am very sorry but I don't agree with it 

In my opinion 'dom' should be used  as home rather not a house as a building.

Ethymology  - latin  _domesticus_ 'domowy' i _domicilium_ 'siedziba' from _domus_ 'dom'. 

source


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## Frank06

Hi,



Seana said:


> I am very sorry but I don't agree with it.


Never feel sorry for disagreeing 


> In my opinion 'dom' should be used  as home rather not a house as a building. Ethymology  - latin  _domesticus_ 'domowy' i _domicilium_ 'siedziba' from _domus_ 'dom'.


As far as I can see and as far as I understand, the source you posted gives the etymology of *domestykacja* and *domicyl*, but _not _of 'dom'.
I double checked, and also this source (you have to scrol down till _*dom-, *dóm-o-) _gives a PIE etymology for Polish dom, rather than a Latin one.

Take good care.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## werrr

I agree with Frank06. The influence of Latin on the family of Slavic languages was very unequal, but the word "dom" is Panslavic. The PIE origin is more acceptable.

I always wonder at Polish *zdecydować*. The other Slavic variants are overshadowed. I see no reason to use this Latin word (I know it is'nt adopted directly from Latin, but it originated in Latin *decernere*).


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## Thomas1

Seana said:


> Hello Frank,
> 
> I am very sorry but I don't agree with it
> 
> In my opinion 'dom' should be used as home rather not a house as a building.
> 
> Ethymology - latin _domesticus_ 'domowy' i _domicilium_ 'siedziba' from _domus_ 'dom'.
> 
> source


You aren't exactly on the money saing so and the proportion of the usage of its senses by the Polish is more or less six of one and half a dozen of the other. I always used it and still use as _home_ and _house_, I am a tad astonished at your comment since we don't have the difference which English has.



Frank06 said:


> [...]
> 
> 
> 
> In my opinion 'dom' should be used as home rather not a house as a building. Ethymology - latin _domesticus_ 'domowy' i _domicilium_ 'siedziba' from _domus_ 'dom'.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I can see and as far as I understand, the source you posted gives the etymology of *domestykacja* and *domicyl*, but _not _of 'dom'.
> I double checked, and also this source (you have to scrol down till _*dom-, *dóm-o-) _gives a PIE etymology for Polish dom, rather than a Latin one.
> 
> Take good care.
> 
> Groetjes,
> 
> Frank
Click to expand...

To my native knowledge you're right on this one. The terms in the entry linked to by Seana are used in the jargon of lawyers and a plethora of them is indeed of Latin origin (including the ones in question, OC). They sound really formal to me almost like straight from an office. They have a different origin from our _dom_ which is very likely to be, as you said, of Proto-Slavic origin (btw, domú is the _kreska_ above the _u_ a designate of its quantity, please?).



werrr said:


> I agree with Frank06. The influence of Latin on the family of Slavic languages was very unequal, but the word "dom" is Panslavic. The PIE origin is more acceptable.
> 
> I always wonder at Polish *zdecydować*. The other Slavic variants are overshadowed. I see no reason to use this Latin word (I know it is'nt adopted directly from Latin, but it originated in Latin *decernere*).


I don't see any counterarguments why we shouldn't use it. 

Tom


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## cajzl

Some common words:

mass - msza - mše (< missa) 
church (building) - kościół - kostel (< castellum)
altar - ołtarz - oltář (< altarium)
shirt - koszula - košile (< casula)
onion - cebola - cibule (< caepa, caepula)
parsley - pietruszka - petržel (< petroselinum)
colour - kolor - (barva) (< color)


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## Seana

Hi,

If you don't mind I would like to return to the topic about ethymology one of the very important Polish word - 'dom' once again.

Latin 'domus', or at 'domi' means: at one's (own) place, at home.
as the symbol of the family, the tribe (_domus te nostra tota salutat_- Cicero), as well as sect and school.
Latin word 'foris' is meaning out-of-doors, beyond the walls.

So the meaning of word 'dom' is much closer to the meaning of English word 'home' then 'house'.


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## Frank06

Hi,


Seana said:


> If you don't mind I would like to return to the topic about  etymology one of the very important Polish word - 'dom' once again.
> Latin 'domus', or at 'domi' means: at one's (own) place, at home.
> Latin word 'foris' is meaning out-of-doors, beyond the walls.
> So the meaning of word 'dom' is much close meaning of word 'home' then 'house'.



Again, I am afraid that I have to disagree .
It's not (only) the meaning that is important when dealing with the etymology of a word, and yet that seems to be your only issue (if I understood well). The argument of meaning you use here really is not enough to *[edit]*undermine*[/edit]* the well-established etymology of the word 'dom'.

*[Edit*: From Beekes' _Vergelijkende Taalwetenschap"_ (Translated as _Comparative Indo-European linguistics_): "the (PIE) word for house was *do:m (...Old Church Slavonic dom', Gr. domos, Lat. domus)".
BTW, the English word 'timber' is related to the PIE root *demH-, from which *dom is the o-grade.]

Take good care,

Frank


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## Seana

Hi Frank, 
Could you have a look on this website about some terms mutated from Latin in Sardinian language.
We can see there :


			
				domu said:
			
		

> quote


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## Frank06

Hi Seana,


Seana said:


> Could you have a look on this website about some terms mutated from Latin in Sardinian language. [...] *domu, from the Latin domus, meaning home*:


The phrasing on the website is a bit weird (cf. 'mutating'), but it looks acceptable. 
But I don't really understand what information on a toursitic website about Sardinian has to do with Polish. It is certainly not an argument in favour of the Latin roots of Old Church Slavonic 'domь' and Proto-Slavic *domu-.
If you are referring to the 'home/house' thing, I can only repeat that it is not a valid argument either.
BTW, Lat. _domum_ means both _house_ and _home_.
Could you please explain a bit more what you meant?

Thanks, and take good care,

Frank


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## Seana

Hi Frank,
Remorsefully I must admit I was wrong. 
I agree wirh you. Giving a PIE etymology for Polish dom, rather than a Latin one you are probably/certainly right. 
It is a lingual forum so I wouldn't like to my post could misled somebody.
Although many dictionaries are giving Latin roots of this word I think that influences are previous just from PIE.
 


			
				Frank06 said:
			
		

> BTW, Lat. _domum_ means both _house_ and _home_.Could you please explain a bit more what you meant?


 

I am a civil engineer so the words connected with houses and building are used very often by me in everyday life. But I must say my colleagues and I rarely use word 'dom=home' as describing the building in our professional jargon. It is really a nuance but a dom=home is for me rather something more abstract, just my own place, the family, maybe even homeland, the climate, something like in Polnd is said "Sheltered place of the home bonfire" 

best regards Seana


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## mikesz14

http://sjp.pwn.pl/lista.php?co=dom&od=0


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## Frank06

Hi,


Seana said:


> Although many dictionaries are giving Latin roots of this word I think that influences are previous just from PIE.


Many dictioanaries? Interesting.
This could shed a new light upon the relation Sl. dom - Lat. domus - PIE *dom-. Maybe I did misinterpret a few things earlier on.
Which dictionaries exactly? And could you give the relevant quotes?

Thanks in advance.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Tantrum

cajzl said:


> Some common words:
> 
> mass - msza - mše (< missa)
> church (building) - kościół - kostel (< castellum)
> altar - ołtarz - oltář (< altarium)
> shirt - koszula - košile (< casula)
> onion - cebola - cibule (< caepa, caepula)



Onion in Polish is "cebula"


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