On Polish and Russian Dialect Eponyms

Abstract

This article analyzes a number of Polish and Russian dialect eponyms. The main focus is on eponyms motivated by anthroponyms, categorized into several lexico-semantic groups: names of plants, animals, everyday objects, designations of people and their characteristics, names of games and events, and others. The author notes the semantic polyfunctionality (polysemy) of the same eponymous form both within the entire dialectal array of each language and within a single dialect. A particular difficulty lies in establishing the motivational feature that served as the basis for using a particular anthroponym as an eponym. In some cases, this can be established; for instance, many deanthroponyms arose from chrononyms, which were in turn motivated by hagionyms (e. g., Russian ульяновка ‘a variety of apples preserved until St. Juliana’s Day’ and Polish janek ‘a wreath attached to a door on St. John’s Day’). The motivational feature is more easily identified in detoponyms (e. g., Polish dunaj ‘large deep water’ and Russian астраханка ‘a variety of melons’). The compared dialectal languages differ in the frequency of eponym usage within shared lexico-semantic groups. Specifically, in Russian dialects, deanthroponyms refer to individuals significantly more often than in Polish, typically indicating negative traits. The article concludes by noting the prospects of compiling dictionaries and monographs dedicated to dialectal eponyms derived from various classes of onyms.

Received: 26.11.2025.
Revised: 03.02.2026.
Accepted: 17.03.2026.

Citation
Ananyeva N. Ye. On Polish and Russian Dialect Eponyms // Slavic Almanac. 2026. No 1–2. P. 302–315 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2026.1-2.15