Michał Górny (he/they) ∞🙀🚂🐧 on Nostr: Let's talk about umbrellas. An umbrella is called "parasol" in #Polish. When I first ...
Let's talk about umbrellas. An umbrella is called "parasol" in #Polish.
When I first learned that "sol" means the sun in Latin, I started pondering that name. Well, I could come up with a plausible explanation — the primary function changed but the original name stayed.
Then I learned that it was actually derived from French. In French, there are two separate words: "parasol" for an umbrella protecting from the sun, and "parapluie" for one protecting from the rain. The plot thickens.
As it turns out, in the XIX. century the matching word "parapluj" existed in Polish, except that it clearly didn't catch on. Why? Perhaps because "pluj" is the imperative of "to spit."
By the way, a transparent umbrella won't protect you from the sun, so calling it "parasol" doesn't really work.
Perhaps we ought to revive "parapluj"? Plus a diminutive form "paraplujka" (lit. paraspitter), just like there's "parasolka" from "parasol".
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/parasol#Polish
https://obcyjezykpolski.pl/parapluj/
https://solidarnosc.gda.pl/po-godzinach-z-solidarnoscia/na-koncu-jezyka/parasol-parapluj/
#etymology
When I first learned that "sol" means the sun in Latin, I started pondering that name. Well, I could come up with a plausible explanation — the primary function changed but the original name stayed.
Then I learned that it was actually derived from French. In French, there are two separate words: "parasol" for an umbrella protecting from the sun, and "parapluie" for one protecting from the rain. The plot thickens.
As it turns out, in the XIX. century the matching word "parapluj" existed in Polish, except that it clearly didn't catch on. Why? Perhaps because "pluj" is the imperative of "to spit."
By the way, a transparent umbrella won't protect you from the sun, so calling it "parasol" doesn't really work.
Perhaps we ought to revive "parapluj"? Plus a diminutive form "paraplujka" (lit. paraspitter), just like there's "parasolka" from "parasol".
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/parasol#Polish
https://obcyjezykpolski.pl/parapluj/
https://solidarnosc.gda.pl/po-godzinach-z-solidarnoscia/na-koncu-jezyka/parasol-parapluj/
#etymology