Historia semantyki wyrazu "rzecz" i jego derywatów słowotwórczych

Abstract

The majority of the changes which occur in a language may be perceived only from the perspective of the time that elapses. This is a result of the duration of the process which influences a language. This regularity refers also to semantic changes which are influenced inter alia by the evaluation of the properties of referents – the property of a given object which will turn out to be the most important one for the users of a language frequently determines the direction of the changes. The present article contains considerations about the semantics of the word rzecz ‘thing’ associated with its etymology and the other meanings of this word which are a result of the etymology. The plurality of the thematic groups in which one could place the derivatives of the word rzecz is associated with the polysemy of this word. Obviously, the ambiguity of the word‑building basis is not the only reason for the lack of semantic relations between the lexemes which are motivated by this base – the changes of the meanings of the particular derivatives are also important. The text is an attempt at answering the questions about inter alia the semantic relation of such words derived from rzecz such as rzeczownik rzeczywisty, rzecznik, grzeczny, niedorzeczny, rzeczowy with the etymon.