Bondyrz – in Search of the Etymological Roots of the Mysterious Toponym Cover Image

Bondyrz – w poszukiwaniu etymologii tego tajemniczego toponimu
Bondyrz – in Search of the Etymological Roots of the Mysterious Toponym

Author(s): Władysław Makarski
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Semantics
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: topography and toponymy; toponymic homonymy

Summary/Abstract: This article is an attempt to explain the etymology of the place name Bondyrz, a village located on the River Wieprz between Zwierzyniec and Krasnobród in Zamość powiat (district), dating back to the 17th century. The toponym can be interpreted in a variety of ways, which is due to its phonetic and morphological homonymy: a) it can be read as a possessive form created with the Proto-Slavic formative *-jь from the personal name *Bądyr of Slavic origins, or from the Ukrainian form Bondyr; b) as a name created with the formative -yrz from the noun bonda ‘dowry’ or ‘land lease’; c) as a primary derived form from the unattested noun *bondyrz : bonda < banda < Ger. Band ‘band, ribbon’ to designate an enclosed terrain, demarcated by a band of local roads, rivers or forest lines. This latter type of topography is characteristic of other settlements called Bondyrz to be found in the Zamość region, which can provide evidence in favour of the latter kind of etymological interpretation as it offers the greatest degree of explanatory plausibility.

  • Issue Year: 71/2023
  • Issue No: 6
  • Page Range: 229-244
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish