Z polskich drobiazgów słownikowych Tadeusza Szymańskiego: japa

Abstract

The article deals with the Polish dialectal word japa, which was the subject of interest of T. Szymanski. It presents a point in the discussion concerning the etymology of the mentioned dialectal word. The author has come to the following conclusions: 1) it is necessary to consider separately etymologically the Proto‑Slavic *ěpa ‘a growth on a tree, a swollen place on the body’ and the Polish and Belorussian dialectal word japa which means ‘mouth; a large hole’, 2) it is unlikely to be a word derived from a child language, 3) the Serbian and Croatian items should be considered as etymologically identical to the Polish and East Slavic ones, 4) japa ‘mouth, map, etc.’ is close to ziapa with the same meaning, 5) the form with onset ja- (japa) is a result of changing word structure, 6) regional spreading of the Polish dialectal words japa and ziapa could indicate on their Ruthenian roots, 7) it is difficult to establish conclusively whether German word forms japen, jappen which mean ‘to open one’s mouth; to catch, grasp with one’s mouth’ have played any part in this process.