Antropometryczne nazwy miar w polszczyźnie
Anthropometric names of measures in Polish

Summary/Abstract: The basic aim of the article is a description of lexemes which testify to the anthropometric measure system. People have used their bodies to measure objects from time immemorial. This primeval system is reflected in the semantics of Polish lexemes, such as dłoń ‘hand’, garść ‘handful’, krok ‘step’, łokieć ‘elbow, ell’, palec ‘finger’, piędź ‘span’, sążeń ‘fathom’ or stopa ‘foot’. The terms are viewed here primarily as components of collocations, since already in Old Polish they functioned in metaphorical senses and gave rise to phraseological units. Most of the measure terms, being rather approximate, have disappeared and been replaced by other measurement systems. However, collocations and phraseological units have often survived although speakers are no longer aware of their origins.

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