| dc.description.abstract | The article concerns anthroponymic cognomina and nicknames in Pisarzowa. In the field
research, the total number of 142 cognomina and nicknames were collected. In the small
community of the village, cognomina and nicknames lightly dominate the surnames. Several
motivational types of cognomina and nicknames may be distinguished in the collected
material. They stem both from proper nouns (most often from personal names and surnames,
geographical and place names), and from all kinds of common nouns. Those originating from
appellatives are more numerous than those based on proper nouns. In Pisarzowa, unofficial
anthroponymic descriptions function in the singular as individual names, e.g. Piwniczka, and
in the plural as family names, e.g. Abycioki. The shift from surnames to cognomina is a process
that may not always be observable. There are many ways of forming cognomina, such as
onymisation, i.e. using appellatives, or trans-onymisation, i.e. using proper nouns. In small
communities cognomina and nicknames are an important identifying element. In Pisarzowa
the phenomenon is productive: practically every inhabitant of the village is nicknamed. | en_EN |
