Thematic areas of eponyms of French origin in the Polish language

This article discusses eponyms (name words) of French origin in the Polish language, found in Słownik eponimów czyli wyrazów odimiennych [Dictionary of Eponyms, i.e. Name Words] by Władysław Kopaliński. There are enough of such words in Kopaliński’s dictionary to assign them to certain thematic areas, which is covered in this work. Analysis of the accumulated material shows that the largest thematic areas represented in the dictionary include physics, chemistry, botany, religion, gastronomy, fabrics, clothing and additions, culture in its broad sense (theatre, literature, music, printing, dance, archaeology). Eponyms derived from the names of literary characters also account for a considerable group of such words. Such groups as politics, technology and devices, geology, medicine, military, industry, furniture and animals contribute only a few words each. Among the analysed eponyms, there are several which are parts of set phrases. Around a dozen have not been assigned to any of the thematic areas.Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie109110