Polish-English cognates and doublets: Morphosemantic evolution of selected Proto-Indo-European roots into related lexemes in Polish and English

Abstract

The following article will attempt to visualise the relationship between Polish and English by presenting selected examples of cognates and doublets (so called ‘etymological twins’, or related words found in one language) in both languages, following their etymology and the semantic and morphological changes to which they were subject. The evolution of the Proto-Indo-European roots *lendh- ‘loin’, *sh2el- ‘salt’ *ph3i- ‘drink’ *seh₁- ‘to impress, insert; to sow, plant’ will be investigated, as well as the morphological and semantic changes the words descending from these roots have undergone, such as the use of metaphor, metonymy, specialisation or generalisation. Doublets and cognates in Polish and English will be presented and described.