O pantałyku raz jeszcze

Abstract

To some extend this paper should be regarded as a polemic with two papers devoted to the lexem pantałyk and the phrasal verb zbić z pantałyku, recently published in “Slavia Orientalis”: Е. Николаева, С. Николаев, О сложности взаимовлияния близкородственных языков (на примере выражения сбить с панталыку), “Slavia Orientalis” 2019, no. 4, pp. 741-750; Л. Даниленко, Український пантелик та його рецепція у слов’янських мовах (до походження фразеологізму збити з пантелику), “Slavia Orientalis” 2020, no. 2, pp. 319-334. The article consists of two parts. The first presents the views revealed in the above mentioned texts. The author generally agrees with them, attempting to introduce some supplementary information and corrections concerning the chronology of the word and phrase in Ukrainian, Polish, Russian and Belorusian. In the second part, of an etymological character, both proposals have been subjected to criticism. A new approach to the issue of the origin of the lexeme and phrasal verb both has been presented. The author’s approach is restricted to the Greek etymology: special attention is paid to the original meaning of the above-mentioned lexeme and phrasal verb. Taking into account the broader context of “zbić z pantałyku” referred to in Ivan Kotlyarevsky’s poem we can come to the conclusion that in meaning the point is “to dispel somebody’s sense, reason” and such being the case – “to deprive of self-confidence, courage, cunning, craftiness, the ability to overcome any difficulties, to cause somebody confusion and disorientation, to reduce somebody to madness”.