My Polish correspondent, Zbigniew Lechniak, in Warsaw, also sent this follow up. It's a little discussion on the Polish words for "man". Everything Zbyszek wrote is in blue. My comments are in red. If you don't see the "special" Polish letters, take a look HERE.
"Now, let us take equivalent word mê¿czyna (man)
Mê¿czyzna - is formal, and not used too often
Ch³op - a funny word meaning many things. It is usually not derogatory.
and then:
ch³op - it is equivalent to a peasant
ch³op -a common replacement for man and then
baba(!) - just the opposite to the above and often used in scolding young
boys (you cry like a 'baba', my boy)
( go³y ch³op - is practically meaningless, they do not want to show naked
men in our TV and it may look like a discrimination. Only women could help
it). But be careful! 'go³y' means also - without money (go³y, ale weso³y =
(he is) without a penny but still merry)
byczy ch³op,
ch³opek roztropek - a stupid guy pretending to know everything the best
ch³op jak piêæ minut (lit. 'like five minutes') a small, thin and
inconspicuous man
ch³op na schwa³ - a strong and a big man
facet - a guy and then
(dziadek - it means grandpa, but also an old man (old men do not like it)
ch³opina, ch³opisko - same as ch³op, but smaller and said with the implied
compassion
ch³op means also husband. Elder and not so educated wives can say: mój
ch³op - my man.
pilnuj swego ch³opa - watch out for your man, implying his would-be sexual
appetites
babie chce siê ch³opa - a rough expression implying that a woman desires a
man or she wants to marry him
ch³opiec (ch³opak is similar)- a boy; it is etymologically derived from
ch³op, but there is no special flavour in it unless we associate it to a
middle-aged man
ch³opaczek, ch³opiê, ch³opczyna, ch³opczyk - diminutives from boy
Surely, we have also some indirect substitutes of this word, giving
sexual flavour: przystojniak, przystojniaczek,
Is not a live Polish language fantastic?????????????
I can only say: the above is not my work; in fact, generations worked on it
and generations made Polish language so rich!
There are also numerous juicy proverbs employing 'baba' and 'ch³op'."
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