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Polish Terms
This page is devoted to helping you decipher Polish documents and other records. Below you will find the names of the months, common Polish terms, Polish occupations, and causes of death. Several excellent links to other web pages can be found here. Certain letters of the Polish alphabet are not found in the English alphabet, and substituted letters and symbols are used to replace Polish diacritical marks.
This page is also available with the proper Polish letters displayed. Click here.
Substitutions for Diacritical Marks
Substitution characters (left), Polish characters (center) and standard keyshifts to use if you program your word processor (right)
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Months
English |
Polish |
English |
Polish |
January |
styczen~, stycznia |
July |
lipiec, lipca |
February |
luty, lutego |
August |
sierpein~, sierpnia |
March |
marzec, marca |
September |
wrzesien~, wrzes~nia |
April |
kwiecien~, kwietna |
October |
paz~dziernik, paz~dziernika |
May |
maj, maja |
November |
listopad, listopada |
June |
czerwiec, czerwca |
December |
grudzien~, grudnia |
Polish Terms found in Documents
(any additions are welcome)
Also visit Polish Genealogical Word List for Polish terms, Latin Genealogical Word List for Latin terms, and German Genealogical Word List for German terms.
A
akta mal~z|en~stwa: marriage register
akta umarl~ych: death register
akta urodzin: birth register
akta zejs~cia: death register
akta zgono~w: death register |
B
babcia, babka: grandmother
bez imienia dzie~cie pli zenskiej: unnamed child sex female
bezimienna, bezimienny: unnamed
bezme~z|na: single, unmarried, without a husband
bezz|enny: single, unmarried, without a wife
bliz~nie~ta, bliz~niaczy: twin
bracia: brothers
brak danych: unknown, lack of evidence
brat: brother
bratanek: nephew (brother's son)
bratanica: niece (brother's daughter)
bratowa: sister-in-law (brother's wife)
brzemienny: pregnant |
C
chrzest: baptism
cia~z|y: pregnant
ciocia, ciotka: aunt (mother's sister)
cmentarny, cmentarz: cemetery, churchyard, burial ground
co~rka: daughter
czyli: otherwise, or (alias)
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D
data i miejsce: date and place of
data: date
data s~lubu: date of marriage
data urodzenia: date of birth
diecezja: diocese
dni, dnia, dzien~: day
dziadek, dziadzia: grandfather
dzieci: child
dziewczyna: girl
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E
ewangelickie: Evangelical (Lutheran) |
F
familia: family
farny: parish |
G
gmina: municipality; the lowest governmental division
godzin, godzina, godz.: o'clock, hour
gospodarstwo: household, homestead, farm
grecko-katolickie: Greek Catholic |
H
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I
i: and
imie~: name
imie~ chrzestne: Christian or baptismal name
imiona: names
imiona rodzico~w: names of parents |
J
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K
kawaler: bachelor
kos~cio~l~: church
kro~lestwo: kingdom
ksia~dz, ks.: priest, Reverend Father
ksie~gi hipoteczne: mortgage books
kumoszka: godmother
kumoter: godfather
kumy: godparents
kuratel: ward (child)
kuzyn: cousin
kwadrans, kwad.: a quarter of an hour
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L
lat, lata: age, years (plural only)
lub: or |
M
mal~z|en~ski: married
mal~z|en~stwo: marriage
mal~z|onek: husband
mal~z|onka: wife
martwo urodzony: stillborn
matka: mother
matka chrzestna: godmother
ma~z|, me~z|a: husband, husband's
metryka: orginal record (of birth, marriage)
miasto: city
miejsce: place
miejsce urodzenia: place of birth
miesia~c, miesie~cy, m.; months, months
ml~odzian: youth, young man
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N
narzeczona: fiancée
narzeczony: fiancé
nazwisko: surname
nazwisko niewiadomy: surname unknown
nazwisko panien~skie: maiden name
nazwisko po me~z|u: married name
niedziel: Sunday, week
niepel~noletni: a minor, an infant
nieprawny: illegitimate
nies~lubny: unwed
niewiadomy: unknown
niez|ywo, niez|ywa: dead (stillborn)
niez|ywo urodzony: not living at birth
nowa, nowe, nowy, ns.: new |
O
oblubienica: bride
oblubieniec: bridegroom
oboje: both
oddzial~: detachment (military)
odpis: transcript, copy
ojciec: father
ojciec chrzestny: godfather
ojczym: stepfather
okol~o: circa, about
opiekun: guardian
oz|eniony: married |
P
pan: Mr.
pani: Mrs.
panien~skie nazwisko: maiden name
panna: girl, maiden, Miss
parafia: parish
pasierb: stepson
pasierbica: stepdaughter
pl~ec~ z|en~skiej: sex female
pochowac~: bury
pocho~wek: burial
pogrzeb: burial
po~l~: half
po~l~tora: one and a half
pol~ brat: half-brother
po~l~ (pul~) godziny: half hour
poronienie: miscarriage
powiat: county
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pol~ siostra: half-sister
prababcia: great-grandmother
prababka: great-grandmother
pradziad: ancestor
pradziadek: great-grandfather
prawnucze~ta: great-grandchildren
prawosl~awne: Orthodox
przednazwiska: middle name, nickname
przydomek: surname
przyjaciele: friends |
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R
rodzic: parent
rodzice: parents
rodzina: family
rok: one year (this is abbreviated to r. after a year, i.e. - 1884 r.); singular use only
rosyjski: Russian
rozwodnik: divorced man, divorcee
ruski: Ruthenian, Ukrainian
rzymsko-katolickie: Roman Catholic |
S
samic: female
samiczka: female
siostra: sister
siostrzenica: niece (sister's daughter)
stara, stare, stary, st.: old
stopien~: rank
stryj: uncle (father's brother)
stryjenka: aunt (father's sister)
syn: son
synowa: daughter-in-law (son's wife)
synowie, syny: sons
szos: house tax
szwagier: brother-in-law |
szwagierka: sister-in-law
s~lub: marriage
s~wiadectwo: certificate
s~wiadectwo chrztu: baptismal certificate
s~wiadectwo s~lubo: marriage certificate
s~wiadectwo s~mierci: death certificate
s~wiadectwo zgonu: death certificate |
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T
tydzien: week
tyg., tygod., tygodni: weeks (plural)
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U
umarl~: died
umarl~ dnia: day of death
umrzec~ s~miercia~ naturalna~: died of natural causes
urodzil~, urodzony: birth
urza~d stanu cywilnego: civil register office
uwaga, uwagi: remark, remarks
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W
wdowa: widow
wdowiec: widower
wiek: age
wies~: village
wsie: villages
wnucze~ta: grandchildren
wnuczka: granddaughter
wnuk: grandson
wojewo~dztwo, woj.: province
:wolnego stanu: free status (unmarried)
wuj: uncle (mother's brother)
wujenka: aunt (wife of mother's brother)
wyznanie: religion |
Z
zamieszkanie: place of residence
z domu: maiden name
zgon, zgonu: (cause of) death
zmarl~: died
zyc~: to live
zyl~, zyl~a: (he, she) lived
z|ona: wife
z|onaty: married
(i) z|yc~a~cy: of life
z|ydowskie: Jewish |
Occupations
akuszerka: midwife
chal~upnik: farmer with a small cottage but no land
dziedzic: heir (this is seen as an occupation for a nobleman)
dzierz|awca: tenant, lease-holder
garncarz: potter
gospodarz: farmer
ka~tnik: laborer, a poor person who lived in someone else's cottage
kmiec~: a self-supporting farmer
komornik, kumornik: a farmer who owned no land or cottage and lived in someone else's house
ksia~dz, ks.: priest, Reverend Father
kupiec: merchant
les~nik: woodsman, forester
l~owca: hunter
luz~ny: vagabond
mys~liwy: hunter
nie-szlachcic: a commoner
oberz|ysta: innkeeper
ogrodnik: farmer with a house and garden but no cropland
opatrzny: poor burgher
operarzy: laborer
pasterz: shepherd
piekarz: baker
pol~oz|na: midwife
po~l~rolnik: farmer with a house, farm buildings, animals, and cropland
pracowity: peasant
rataj: serf dependent on the village lord
rolnik: farmer
sklepikarz: shopkeeper
skryba: scribe, clerk
sl~awetny: a rich burgher in a small town or an average resident of a big city
sol~tys, szol~tys: administrator of a village
szambelan: chamberlain
szeryf: sheriff
szewc: shoemaker
szlachic: nobleman
s~winiopas: swineherd
tkacz: weaver
uczciwy: village craftsman, inn owner
ul~an: a Polish cavalryman with a lance
unrodzony: nobleman possessing land
wojak: soldier
wymienca: trader
wyrobnik: laborer
wyrobnik rolny: farm hand
zacny: wealthiest merchant
zagrodnik: farmer who owned a house, farm buildings, animals, and farmed a small plot of
land
zagrodnik z roli: a farmer who owned a house, farm buildings, animals, and farmed a medium-sized plot of land
z|ol~nierz: soldier
Illnesses/Causes of Death
agaria: diarrhea
apoplksja: apoplexy
ayaria: diarrhea
biegunka: diarrhea, flux
blednica: chlorosis, greensickness
bl~onica: diphtheria
bronchit: bronchitis
cholera: Asiatic cholera
choleryna: other types of cholera
cholerynka: infantile cholera
choroba: disease, illness
choroba angielska: rickets
choroba serca: heart disease
chrosty: measles
czerwonka: dysentery, bloody flux
dyfteria: diphtheria
dyzenteria: dysentery, bloody flux
febra: fever
gangrena: gangrene
gora~czka: fever
gora~czka pol~ogowa: childbed fever, puerperal fever
gos~ciec: gout, arthritis
gos~ciec stawowy: rheumatic fever, rheumatism
gruz~lica: tuberculosis, consumption
gruz~lica sko~ry: lupus
influenca: influenza
jad: virus
kaszel: cough
katar: head cold, rheum
katar kiszek: enteritis
katar oskrzeli: bronchitis
kil~a: syphilis, hernia
koklusz: whooping cough (pertussis)
kolka: colic
konwulsje: convulsions, fits
krew: blood
krosta: pimple, pustule
krosty: measles
krwawa biegunka: dysentery, bloody flux
krwawia~czka: hemophilia
krzywica: rickets
kurcz: spasm
malaria: malaria
marazm: infantile debility (due to malnutrition)
nerka: kidney
odra: rubeola, measles
opuchlina: dropsy, edema (swelling)
ospa: smallpox
ospa dziecie~ca: chicken pox
ospa wietrzna: chicken pox
piasek moczowy: gravel(a kidney disorder -- possibly kidney stones?)
pitoce, pytochie, pytichij: phlegm, rheum
plamisty: probably spotted fever
pl~uco: lung
pol~ogowy, przy pol~oga: childbed fever, puerperal fever
pthysis: phthisis, consumption, tuberculosis
puchlina: dropsy, edema (swelling)
rachityzm: rickets, rachitis
reumatyzm: rheumatism
ropne zapalenie: cyanache, quinsy, tonsillitis
ro~z|a: erysipelas, "the Rose", "St. Anthony's Fire" and "phlogosis"
ro~z|yczka: rubella
rzez|a~czja: gonorrhea
sinica: cyanosis
skroful~y: tuberculosis
sl~abos~c~, sl~abosi: weakness, illness, debility
staros~c~: senility
stetryczal~y: bilious
suchoty: consumption
syfilis: syphilis
szkarlatyna: scarlet fever
szkorbut: scurvy
te~z|cowy: tetanus
tyfoidalny: typhoid
tyfus: prior to the mid-nineteenth century, typhoid and typhus were not differentiated;
indicates either disease
tyfusbrzuszny: typhoid (enteric fever)
tyfus plamisty: typhus (spotted fever)
udar paralityczny: paralysis
wietrzna: chicken pox
wodna puchlina: dropsy, edema (swelling)
wodogl~owie: hydrocephalus, dropsy of the brain
wo~l, wole: goiter
wyniszczenie: infantile debility (due to malnutrition)
zapalenie: inflammation
zapalenie mo~zgu: encephalitis
zapalenie nerek: nephritis
zapalenie opl~ucnej: pleurisy
zapalenie opon mo~zgowych: meningitis
zapalenie otrzewnej: peritonitis
zapalenie pl~uc: pneumonia
zatrucie krwi: septicemia, blood poisoning
z|ol~ciowy: bilious
z|ol~taczka: jaundice
Also, visit Translation Aids for links to online sources of German, Russian, and Polish alphabets
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