List of English words of Polish origin

This is a list English words of Polish origin, that is words used in the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

that were borrowed or derived, either directly or indirectly, from Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

. Several Polish words have entered English slang

Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

via Yiddish

Yiddish language

Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...

, brought by Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

migrating from Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Other English words were indirectly derived from Polish via Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

or West European languages, such as French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

or Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

. The Polish words themselves often come from other languages, such as German or Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

. Borrowings from Polish tend to be mostly words referring to staples of Polish cuisine

Polish cuisine

Polish cuisine is a style of cooking and food preparation originating from Poland. It has evolved over the centuries due to historical circumstances. Polish national cuisine shares some similarities with other Central European and Eastern European traditions as well as French and Italian...

, names of Polish folk dances or specialist, e.g. horse-related, terminology. Among the words of Polish origin there are several words that derive from Polish geographic names and ethnonym

Ethnonym

An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...

s, including the name Polska, "Poland", itself.

Directly

The following words are derive directly from Polish. Some of them are loanwords in Polish itself.

Word	Meaning	Etymology	References
Babka, baba	A leavened coffee or rum cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins	Polish and Ukrainian babka, a yeast cake ← diminutive Diminutive In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment... of baba, "old woman"	AHD: babka, AHD: baba
Bigos Bigos Bigos , known as a Hunter's Stew, is a traditional meat stew typical of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusians and Ukrainian cuisine, considered to be the Polish and Ukrainian national dish....	A Polish stew made with meat and cabbage	Polish bigos ← possibly German begossen, "doused"	AHD, SWO
Britzka Britzka A britzka is a type of horse-drawn carriage. It was a long, spacious carriage with four wheels, with a folding top over the rear seat and a rear-facing front seat. Pulled by two horses, it had a place in front for the driver. It was so constructed as to give space for reclining at night, when used... , britska	A type of horse-drawn carriage	Polish bryczka ← diminutive of bryka, "wagon Wagon A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float.... "	EB-1911
Kielbasa Kielbasa Kielbasa, kołbasa, kobasa, kovbasa, kobasa, kobasi, and kubasa are common North American anglicizations for a type of Eastern European sausage. Synonyms include Polish sausage, Ukrainian sausage, etc...	A spicy smoked Polish sausage	Polish kiełbasa, "sausage" ← East and West Slavic kŭlbasa ← East Turkic kül bassï, "grilled cutlet" ← Turkic kül bastï: kül, "coals, ashes" + bastï, "pressed (meat)" (from basmaq*, "to press")	AHD, OED
Konik Konik The Konik or Polish primitive horse is a small horse, a kind of semi-feral horse, originating in Poland. The Polish word konik is the diminutive of koń, the Polish word for "horse" . However, the name "konik" or "Polish konik" is used to refer to certain specific breeds...	A horse breed	Polish konik ← diminutive of koń, "horse"
Marrowsky Spoonerism A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...	A spoonerism (transposition of the initial consonants of two words)	Said to be from the name of a Polish count	OED
Ogonek Ogonek The ogonek is a diacritic hook placed under the lower right corner of a vowel in the Latin alphabet used in several European and Native American languages.-Use:...	A hook-shaped diacritic Diacritic A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...	Polish ogonek ← diminutive of ogon, "tail"
Paczki Paczki Pączki are pastries traditional to Polish cuisine . Pączki is the plural form of the Polish word pączek , though many English speakers use paczki as singular and paczkis as plural. In English, the common pronunciation imitates the Polish pronunciation, but some speakers pronounce the word or...	A Polish jam doughnut	Polish pączki, plural Plural In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one... of pączek ← diminutive of pąk, "bud"	AHD
Pierogi Pierogi Pierogi are dumplings of unleavened dough - first boiled, then they are baked or fried usually in butter with onions - traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit...	A semicircular dumpling of unleavened dough with any of various fillings	Polish pierogi, plural of pieróg, "dumpling"	AHD, MW
Rendzina Rendzina Rendzina is a dark, grayish-brown, humus-rich, intrazonal soil. It is one of the soils most closely associated with the bedrock type and an example of initial stages of soil development...	A dark, grayish-brown soil that develops under grass on limestone and chalk	Polish rędzina ← rzędzić, "to chat"	MW
Sejm Sejm The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....	Polish diet Diet (assembly) In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:... or parliament	Polish sejm, "diet" or "assembly"	OED
Zloty	Polish currency	Polish złoty, "golden"	AHD, OED

Indirectly

The following words are derive from Polish via third languages.

Word	Meaning	Etymology	References
Hetman Hetman Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....	Historically, a Polish, Czech or Cossak military leader	Ukrainian Ukrainian language Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet.... гетьман, get'man ← Polish hetman ← Czech Czech language Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century... hejtman ← German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... Hauptmann ← Middle High German Middle High German Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German... houbet, "head/high" + man, "man"	AHD, SWO
Horde Horde Horde may refer to:* Ordo * a clan or army of steppe nomads . See Orda * the Blue and White Horde, formed 1226, 1227* the Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s...	A nomadic tribe; a crowd or swarm	Middle French Middle French Middle French is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from 1340 to 1611. It is a period of transition during which:... horde ← German Horde ← Polish horda ← Russian орда (ordá) ← Greek (Byzantine) hορδή (hordé) ← Mongol or North-West Turkic Kypchak languages The Kypchak languages , are a major branch of the Turkic language family spoken by more than 12 million people in an area spanning from Lithuania to China.... ordï, "camp" or "residence" ← Mongol orda, ordu, "court, camp, horde".	AHD, MW
Gherkin Gherkin The gherkin is a fruit similar in form and nutritional value to a cucumber. Gherkins and cucumbers belong to the same species , but are from different cultivar groups....	A small cucumber	Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... gurken, plural of gurk, "cucumber" ← East Frisian Saterland Frisian language Saterland Frisian, also known as Sater Frisian or Saterlandic , is the last living dialect of the East Frisian language. It is closely related to the other Frisian languages—North Frisian, which, like Saterland Frisian, is spoken in Germany and West Frisian, which is spoken in the Netherlands.- Old... augurk ← possibly Polish ogórek ← possibly Medieval Greek Medieval Greek Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe... αγγούριον, angourion ← possibly Persian Persian language Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence... angārah	AHD, OED
Schav, schaf	A sorrel soup Sorrel soup Sorrel soup is a soup made from water or broth, sorrel leaves, and salt. Other possible ingredients are egg yolks or eggs , potatoes, carrots, parsley root, rice . It can be served hot or cold, and usually with sour cream. It is known in Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Eastern European...	Yiddish שטשאַוו, shtshav, "sorrel" ← Polish szczaw	AHD
Schlub, shlub	A clumsy, stupid or unattractive person	Yiddish zhlob or zhlub, "yokel", "boor" ← Polish żłób, "manger"	AHD, MW
Schmatte, shmatte	A rag	Yiddish shmate ← Polish szmata	AHD
Schmuck Schmuck Schmuck is a surname of German origin. As a noun, it means jewelry; as an adjective, it means neat in the sense of clean, tidy, or having a simple elegance. The name is commonly seen on signs and billboards in Germany and Austria related to the merchandising of precious jewelry. The Schmuck... , shmuck	A clumsy or stupid person	Yiddish shmok, vulgar for "penis" ← "probably from" Old Polish smok, "grass snake" or "dragon"	AHD, OED
Uhlan Uhlan Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies.... , ulan	A cavalryman	German Uhlan ← Polish ułan ← Turkish oğlan, "boy" or "servant"	OED, MW

Derived from geographic names and ethnonyms

Word	Meaning	Etymology	References
Alla polacca	Like a polonaise Polonaise The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin.... (in musical notation)	Italian Italian language Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia... alla polacca, "in the Polish manner, Polish style"	MW
Bialy Bialy Bialy, a Yiddish word short for bialystoker kuchen, from Białystok, a city in Poland, is a small roll that is a traditional dish in Polish Ashkenazi cuisine. A traditional bialy has a diameter of up to 15 cm and is a chewy yeast roll similar to a bagel...	A flat, round baked roll or bagel Bagel A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior... topped with onion flakes	Yiddish Yiddish language Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages... bialy ← short for bialystoker, "of Białystok", a town in north-eastern Poland	AHD, MW
Cracovian	A mathematical symbol used in cracovian calculus	Polish krakowian ← Kraków Kraków Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life... , a city in southern Poland, former capital
Cracovienne, krakowiak	A lively Polish folk dance	French (danse) cracovienne, "Kraków (dance)", feminine of cracovien, "of Kraków"; Polish krakowiak, "inhabitant of Kraków"	MW: cracovienne, MW: krakowiak
Crackowe Poulaine Crakows or crackowes were a style of shoes with extremely long toes very popular in the 15th century. They were so named because the style was thought to have originated in Kraków, then the capital of Poland. They began in the late 14th century and fell from fashion after about 1480–90... , cracowe, crakow, crakowe,	A long, pointed shoe popular in the 14th-15th centuries	Middle English Middle English Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century.... crakowe ← Cracow, the English name of Kraków	MW
Czech	Of or related to the Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... or its people	Polish Czech, "a Czech or Bohemia Bohemia Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague... n man" ← Czech Czech language Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century... Čech	AHD
Mazurka Mazurka The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...	A Polish dance or a piece of music for such a dance	Russian Russian language Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics... мазурка, mazurka ← Polish (tańczyć) mazurka, "(to dance) the mazurka", accusative Accusative case The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions... of mazurek ← diminutive of Mazur, "inhabitant of Masovia or Masuria Masuria Masuria is an area in northeastern Poland famous for its 2,000 lakes. Geographically, Masuria is part of two adjacent lakeland districts, the Masurian Lake District and the Iława Lake District... ", regions in north-eastern Poland	AHD, OED, SWO
Polack	A Pole; formerly a neutral term, now considered offensive	Polish Polak, "Pole Poles thumb\|right\|180px\|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe... "	AHD, OED
Polonaise Polonaise The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....	A stately, marchlike Polish dance or a piece of music for such a dance	French (danse) polonaise, "Polish (dance)", feminine of polonais, "Polish"	OED
Polonaise Polonaise (clothing) A polonaise is a woman's garment of the later 1770s and 1780s or a similar revival style of the 1880s inspired by Polish national costume, consisting of a gown with a fitted bodice and cutaway, draped and poufed overskirt, worn over an underskirt or petticoat.The eighteenth century polonaise was a...	A woman's overdress popular in the 18th century	French (robe à la) polonaise, "Polish (style dress)", feminine of polonais, "Polish"	OED
Polonaise	Sprinkled with browned butter and bread crumbs (of food, mostly vegetables)	French polonaise, feminine of polonais, "Polish"	OED, MW
Polonium Polonium Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive element, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for...	Chemical element with atomic number 84	Medieval Latin Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,... Polonia, "Poland"	AHD
Polska Polska (dance) The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...	A Scandinavian folk dance or a piece of music for such a dance	Swedish Swedish language Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish... polska ← feminine of polsk, "Polish"	MW
Poulaine Poulaine Crakows or crackowes were a style of shoes with extremely long toes very popular in the 15th century. They were so named because the style was thought to have originated in Kraków, then the capital of Poland. They began in the late 14th century and fell from fashion after about 1480–90...	(The pointed toe of) a crackowe	Middle French (soulier à la) poulaine, "Polish (style shoe)" ← feminine of poulain, "Polish"	MW
Silesaurus Silesaurus Silesaurus is a genus of dinosauriform from the Late Triassic, approximately 230 million years ago in the Carnian faunal stage of what is now Poland....	An extinct genus of dinosauriform reptiles from the Late Triassic Late Triassic The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...	Medieval Latin Silesia Silesia Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław... ← Polish Śląsk, a region in south-western Poland + Classical Greek saura, "lizard"
Varsoviana, varsovienne Varsovienne The varsovienne, also known as the varsouvienne or varsoviana, is a slow, graceful dance in ¾ time with an accented downbeat in alternate measures. It combines elements of the waltz, mazurka, and polka. The dance originated around 1850 in Warsaw, Poland...	A graceful dance similar to a mazurka	Spanish varsoviana ← feminine of varsoviano; French varsovienne ← feminine of varsovien; both from Medieval Latin varsovianus, "of Warsaw Warsaw Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most... " (Polish: Warszawa), the capital city of Poland	MW

Directly

Indirectly

Derived from geographic names and ethnonyms

See also