kobieta
Definitions
- 1.woman (adult female human)
Konew piwá z imbierem pod ſobą piáſtuiąc/ Popiją ſie kobiety ſpołu ſie cżeſtuiąc
Holding a jug of beer with ginger under them/ Hags will drink and share
Mogąć oni przezywáć żony kobietámi/ Aleć też nie dokońcá máią rozum ſámi: Naydzie więtſzą ſtátecżność przy náſzych kobietách/ Niżli przy Pániech Rádnych
They may call their wives hags, but they themselves are not entirely wise: There will be more stability with our hags, than with the Councillors.
Accede ad ignem hunc, iam caleſces plus ſatis. Przyſtąp ſie do kobiety/ będzieſz ćiepł ná trzy zbyty.
Accede ad ignem hunc, iam calesces plus satis. Get close to a woman/ you'll be warm enough now.
- 2.colloquialdialectalwoman (wife or lover)
Wieczorem jestem umówiony z kobietą, ale po jedenastej będziesz już mógł dzwonić.
In the evening I have a date with my woman, but after eleven you'll be able to call.
Chłop miał kobietę ogromną pijaczkę.
The guy had a huge drunk of a wife.
Chłop radzi się swej kobiety.
The guy is consulting his woman.
- 3.derogatorygirl (young female human)
- 4.obsoletemaid; hired female worker
nająć kobietę
to hire a maid
[Chatę] bieliła zawsze matka sama, ale jeśli kiedy była […] niezdrowa, to się najmowało kobietę ze wsi.
[The cottage] was always whitewashed by my mother herself, but if she was ever unwell, a maid from the village was hired.
Rejenta dama jeszcze u gotowalni; choć spieszy się sama i choć jej pomagają służebne kobiety, nie mogła w żaden sposób skończyć toalety: ledwie będzie gotowa na godzinę czwartą.
The lady notary is still in the dressing room; although she is in a hurry and is assisted by the maids, she cannot possibly finish her toilette: she will hardly be ready by four o'clock.
Synonyms & related words
- kobieciarz
- kobieciątko
- kobiecina
- kobieta fatalna
- kobieta luksusowa
- kobieta publiczna
- kobieta sukcesu
- kobieta z przeszłością
- kobieton
- być kobietą
Related words (4)
Etymology
Uncertain. Displaced niewiasta (now considered poetic) and żona (meaning narrowed down to “wife”). Popularized by the Polish Romantic writers in the 19th century. First attested in 1545. * Possibly from Old Polish kob (“pigpen”) or koba (“mare”) (the ending -ieta is found in some contemporaneous female names (e.g. Markieta, Elżbieta, Greta)); however, this theory has been rejected by most etymologists. Compare kobiałka. * Boryś asserts the term is a Polish innovation with an unclear root kob- and potentially the original suffix being extended with -ita (compare Middle Polish kobita and najmita), but he rejects the existence of the suffix -ita. * Bańkowski asserts that the term is not native and suggests Germanic origin, possibly a compound of Middle High German kobe (“sty, shed”) (compare modern German Koben) and *geit (“goat”) (compare modern Dutch geit), originally meaning “a pen for goats” but also, derogatorily, “an enclosure for service maidens”; however, he also questions why the form is -bie- and not -be-. * Sławski also rejects native origin but is ultimately unable to draw connections to other languages. * Długosz-Kurczabowa thinks the word may be of native origin, specifically a compound of Proto-Slavic *kobь (“bird-flight divination”) and *věta (“fairy”), but she also does not reject the possibility of foreign origin, suggesting, e.g., Old High German gambetta (“concubine”) or even Finnish kave (“a creature related to the moon, sky, or air”) and Estonian kabu (“castrated animal”) (compare also Proto-Samic *kāpëk), as the source.
Forms
- kobietkadiminutive
- kobieciskoaugmentative
- kobiecyadjective
- kobieckiadjective • obsolete
- kobitaalternative
- kobiétaalternative
- kobiytaalternative
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | kobieta | kobiety |
| Genitive | kobiety, kobietę | kobiet, - |
| Dative | kobiecie | kobietom, - |
| Accusative | kobietę, - | kobiety |
| Instrumental | kobietą, - | kobietami |
| Locative | kobiecie, - | kobietach |
| Vocative | kobieto, - | kobiety, - |