Polish surnames derived from names of agricultural tools
Zenon Lica
Abstract
The aim of the article is to analyse appellatives, recorded in "The Dictionary of surnames used in Poland in the 21st century", which were derived from Polish and German names of agricultural tools. Personal names created in this manner indivisualised a person, indicating his profession according to the metonymic model DOER FOR INSTRUMENT. The surnames subject to analysis were: "Brona", Ger. "Egge", "Cep", Ger. "Flegel", "Kosa", Ger. "Sense", "Lemiesz", Ger. "Pflugschar", "Pług", Ger. "Pflug", "Radło", Ger. "Rührpflug", "Sierp", Ger. "Sichel", "Socha", Ger. "Hakenpflug". At the moment of their creation, these surnames were characteristic of lower social strata: peasants or craftsmen. The nominainstrumenti carrier could have been the user or the maker of a given tool. The surnames are then vehicles of content and values connected with a particular individual, thus fulfilling the culture-forming function.
