barszcz

See also: Barszcz

English

Alternative forms

• borszcz

Etymology

From Polish barszcz. Doublet of borscht.

Noun

barszcz (uncountable)

1. (rare) Polish borscht.
   • 1921, Selected Polish Tales, page 7:

     Slimakowa looked him up and down, gave him a bowl of barszcz and another of potatoes, and told him to wash in the river.

   • 1990, Anton Gill, Berlin to Bucharest: Travels in Eastern Europe, page 62:

     She poured herself another glass of Bulgarian white, and spooned up the remainder of her barszcz before polishing off the small meat pasty that is always served with beetroot soup.

   • 1991, Tom Bernardin, “Poland”, in The Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook, updated edition, New York, N.Y.: Tom Bernardin, Inc., published 1997 July, →ISBN, page 78:

     BIALY BARSZCZ WIELKANOCNA (WHITE EASTER BARSZCZ) […] Into wide soup bowls, ladle barszcz.

   • 1999, Cold War, Common Pursuit: British Council Lecturers in Poland, page 73:

     […] cutlery and glasses would appear and then dish after dish of fish en gelée, bowls of barszcz with twisted puff pastry sticks, bigos, pierogi, sliced ham, fresh and picked vegetables, bottled fruits, cakes, tarts and bottles and bottles of flavoured vodkas.

   • 2004, Helen McCourt Mentek, “The Wheel of Life”, in Ripples on a Puddle: A Collection of Short Stories, Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 228:

     Women bustled about laying out large platters of chicken, kielbasa rings, heaping bowls of golabki, pierogi and steaming tureens of barszcz.

Usage notes

• Usually italicized as a loanword.

Old Polish

Alternative forms

• barzcz

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bъ̃rščь. First attested in the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /baːrʃʲt͡ʃ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /bɒrʃʲt͡ʃ/

Noun

barszcz m animacy unattested

1. common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
   • 1900 [1419], Józef Rostafiński, editor, Symbola ad historiam naturalem medii aevi = Średniowieczna historya naturalna w Polsce. Ps 2‎^[1], number 5285:

     Barscz branca *uronia

     [Barszcz branca *uronia]

2. The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. fermented liquid
      • 1885-2024 [1463], Jan Baudouina de Courtenay, Jan Karłowicz, Antoni Adam Kryńskiego, Malinowski Lucjan, editors, Prace Filologiczne‎^[2], volume V, page 12:

        Brzeczka, malon, barscz braxalium

        [Brzeczka, Malz, barszcz braxalium]

3. greater celandine (Chelidonium majus)
   • 1442, Wokabularz Raczyńskich, Biblioteki Raczyńskich w Poznaniu, sygn. 1360/I, page 69r:

     Celidonia herba quedam barzcz

     [Celidonia herba quedam barzcz]

Derived terms

nouns

• barszczyca
• świni barszcz

 

Descendants

• Polish: barszcz, barzszcz, barzcz (Middle Polish)
  • → English: barszcz
  • → Esperanto: barĉo
  • → Old Ruthenian: барщъ (baršč)
    • Belarusian: баршч (baršč)

References

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “barszcz”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Mańczak, Witold (2017) “barszcz”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “barszcz”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “barszcz”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “barszcz”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “barzcz”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk

Polish

barszcz sense 1

barszcz sense 2

Alternative forms

• barzszcz, barzcz (Middle Polish)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish barszcz, with a semantic shift of hogweed > sour hogweed soup > other sour soups > beetroot soup. For the semantic shift, compare Ukrainian борщ (boršč).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈbarʂt͡ʂ/

• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /bɒrʂt͡ʂ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -arʂt͡ʂ
• Syllabification: barszcz
• Homophone: Barszcz

Noun

barszcz m inan (diminutive barszczyk)

2. borscht (beetroot soup that can be served hot or cold, usually with sour cream; a single serving of this soup)

   Synonym: barszcz czerwony

4. hogweed, cow parsnip, pigweed (any plant of the genus Heracleum)
5. (obsolete, cooking) sourdough; sourdough starter; leavening agent

   Synonyms: rozczyn, zakwas

6. (obsolete, figurative) bad or sour wine
7. (obsolete) weak, low-quality ink for writing
8. (Middle Polish) żur (sour rye soup)

   Synonym: żur

Declension

Declension of barszcz

	singular	plural
nominative	barszcz	barszcze
genitive	barszczu	barszczów/barszczy
dative	barszczowi	barszczom
accusative	barszcz	barszcze
instrumental	barszczem	barszczami
locative	barszczu	barszczach
vocative	barszczu	barszcze

Derived terms

nouns

• barszcz biały
• barszcz czerwony
• barszcz Sosnowskiego
• barszcz ukraiński
• dwa grzyby w barszcz

 

Descendants

• → English: barszcz
• → Esperanto: barĉo
• → Old Ruthenian: барщъ (baršč)
  • Belarusian: баршч (baršč)

Further reading

• barszcz in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• barszcz in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• barszcz in PWN's encyclopedia
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “barszcz”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Paweł Kupiszewski (23.07.2019) “BARSZCZ”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “barszcz”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “barszcz”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “barszcz”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 100