[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] New thoughts on Wegierka village name

[Jerry Frank]

A couple of weeks ago there was discussion on whether this village 
name reflected a reference to a Polish word for plum (more 
specifically, the Hungarian plum variety) or whether it was meant to 
be attached as an adjective to other nearby place names to describe 
Hungarian origins.  I promised to write to an etymology expert for 
his evaluation.  He did reply within the next week but I have been 
too busy to compile this summary of thoughts until now.  So, here we go.

We were discussing We~gierka (the e~ means that the original e has a 
diacritic mark under it giving it an en sound) as a short lived place 
name in a group of villages along the Wisla River not far from Ga~bin 
and Ilow.  I would first point out that the place name does exist 
elsewhere in Poland.  In the deep south near Przemysl, you will find 
We~gierka which just happens to be located on the We~gierka 
River.  There is also We~gierki (note the i) near Wrzesnia in 
Poznan.  And finally there are several We~gierski, We~gierska and 
other variants in other places.

Just as English is a complex language for others (is it "lead" [led] 
the metal; or "lead" [leed] bringing someone along;  or "lead" [led] 
brought someone along?), so too Polish is complex.  Small changes 
such as e to i at the end of a word or adding the s before the ki 
will totally change the context or meaning of a word.  And sometimes 
the context of the word changes without any change to the letter combination.

So, We~gierki in context could be reference to a Hungarian woman but, 
as my expert friend, Fred Hoffmann, points out, it can also mean 
"that Hungarian thing".  It also stands alone as a noun in reference 
to a specific popular plum in Poland or as an adjective in the phrase 
"s~liwki we~gierki" = "Hungarian plum".

A direct quote from Fred is appropriate here:  "No language is 
thoroughly logical and consistent about this sort of thing, and a lot 
of times the usage that ends up becoming standard is just what 
"feels" right to the natives. And let's face it, if you don't grow up 
speaking Polish, you may not have any sense of why this terminology 
is preferable to that terminology. Modern Poles often can't tell you 
why, back centuries ago, their ancestors started calling something X 
instead of Y, even though Y seems like the more sensible choice."

Returning now to the issue of whether the word is applied directly in 
this location as a place name or as a modifier for another place 
name, I will provide Fred's comment (with his permission) as follows:


BEGIN QUOTE
The qualification "German" or "Polish" probably refers to the 
dominant ethnic identity of the inhabitants, or perhaps to the kind 
of charter under which the community was incorporated. Sometimes a 
town or village was chartered under terms of German law, or Polish 
law, or Wallachian law, or whatever. I don't recall seeing a 
"Hungarian-law" town, but then I've never really looked, either. But 
if you have a Wia~czemin Niemiecki and a Wia~czemin Polski, a place 
associated with Hungarians would be Wia~czemin We~goerski, not 
We~gierki. At least, it would if the naming was consistent (which, as 
I said, you can't always count on).

Poles don't often use names or terms referring to females when it 
comes to forming surnames or place names. There are exceptions, of 
course, but Polish was fairly chauvinistic in this regard. It would 
be awfully unusual if a place were called, for instance, Wia~czemin 
We~gierki because it was the Wia~czemin of the Hungarian women. It 
might be called that if it were the Wia~czemin where Hungarian plums 
were common. But if the name referred to the inhabitants or the 
charter, I'd expect it to be Wia~czemin We~gierski.

Actually, I don't understand why these two Wia~czemins are called 
Niemiecki and Polski, because the _Slownik Geograficzny says_ W. 
Niemiecki had 18 houses, and 263 Protestants inhabitants, while W. 
Polski had 35 houses and 263 Protestant inhabitants. Usually 
Protestants were German rather than Polish; but maybe this was an 
exception, and W. Polski was a place settled and inhabited by Polish 
Protestants(!?). Could be, I guess; stranger things have happened.
END QUOTE


Ultimately trying to explain the reasons behind a name may be 
impossible.  In this case, I am now inclined to go with the Hungarian 
plum theory.  However, it could be named after the other location in 
Poland spelled exactly the same, or it could be an inconsistency in 
use of an adjective phrase.  Or maybe the people who created this 
1830s era map just plain got it wrong.  :-)






Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca