On the origin of Pol. dial. kautek ‘dwarf’, G dial. (EPr.) Kautke ‘ditto’
On the Origin of Mythonyms (Pol. dial. kautek, (G dial) (wschprus.) Kautke)

Summary/Abstract: Referring to etymological analysis, the author of this article presents a new hypothesis concerning the origin of the Polish mythological name kautek and the East Prussian word Kautke. The analysis refers to the description of derivatives and semantic development of those mythonyms. While summing up the research results, one may conclude that mythological names such as Pol. dial. kautek, G dial. (EPr.) Kautke belong to lexemes of the West Slavic origin. More precisely, those mythonyms are derived from Pol. dial. *kałtunek ‘a mythological being who makes human hair tangled’ ↔ ‘a dwarf’ ← WSl. *kołtun ‘a mythological being’ (> USrb. kołtun ‘wił – a demon living in a tree’ ↔ (M)Pol. (dial.) kołtun ‘hair allegedly tangled because of a disease called trichoma’ < PSl. *kъḷtunъ ‘curled hair’) + dem. suff. Pol. -ek.East Prussian mythologeme Kautke belongs to Polonisms used in the past in the Duchy of Prussia.

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