Księżyc ‒ Poland word by word
Księżyc is a Polish word for moon. But what does it have to do with ksiądz (priest) or książę (prince)?
Before we answer this question let's take a look at another word, one you might have seen already, provided you have spent some time in Poland. The word is książka (‘book’) and you could have seen it on the street as księgarnia (‘bookstore’).
The word is kind of strange especially when you compare it with other Slavic languages, most of which use some variant of the word kniga, compare the Russian книга or Croatian knjiga. This goes also for the so-called Western Slavic languages like Czech and Slovak (which are most closely related with Polish), which both have kniha. So why książka in Polish?
As etymological dictionaries explain, the Polish word książka is a diminutive formed from księga which itself goes back to knięga and ultimately the Slavic kniga. The -s- which supplemented the original -n- is a typically Polish linguistic invention dating back to the Middle Ages, and which can also be traced in such words as książę (‘duke’), ksiądz (‘priest’), or księżyc (‘moon’) – all of which have their pan-Slavic counterparts starting with kn-.
Interestingly, the three above-mentioned words are all related etymologically and go back to the Proto-Slavic word kъnędzь (compare, Russian князь, Czech kněz) meaning ‘duke’. To put it simply, moon (księż-yc) was by early Poles poetically called the ‘son of the duke’ (książę, this duke being the Sun), and priests were also called dukes, which may have started as a courteous salutation, or rather reflect the high social status of priests in Medieval Poland.
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