O dwóch znaczeniach i jednym wartościowaniu leksemu czystość (na tle niektórych wyrazów pokrewnych i antonimów)

Abstract

On the double meaning and single evaluation of the Polish lexeme czystość as compared with selected synonyms and antonyms This article is dedicated to evolution of both meanings of lexeme czystość – physical, meaning cleanness and ethical meaning purity with its’ evaluation. Both of them orginate from Praslavic language. For better understanding of its’ meanings adjective czysty, antonyms nieczystość, nieczysty, brud and brudny were taken into analysis.Ethical meaning of czystość as morality, righteousness was used commonly in Praslavic language and widely documented during the XVIth Century. It described wide range of positive meanings including sexual purity which became a dominant one. Despite of that fact czystość had great value and was described by positive epithets. It resulted from religious terminology and was one of the importancies in human life. Positive valuing of czystość in ethical meaning (purity) has not changed during next centuries but the way of expressing it has. Czystość described commonly known virtues like czystość serca, czystość zamiarów, czystość intencji, czystość obyczajów. Wide spectrum of understanding it as a virtue resulted in describing other accepted and positive values. Nowadays czystość as a virtue is used less common probably because of it’s pathetic overtone. Throughout the polish language history positive evaluation of purity was strongly underlined by its’ antonyms like nieczystość and transforming into ethical meaning brud.Physical meaning of czystość, rarely recorded because of the saced character of first documents (dominant ones) has not changed over the centuries. Nowadays this meaning become dominant. It resultes from cultural changes and orientation on hygienic style of life – physical czystość (hygiene) is connected with comfort, wellness and health. Unchengable positive meaning of physical czystość resultes from it’s strong antonym brud (dirt) which highly evokes sickness and repulsion.