Yet More About Lachu−Lęchu−Lechu

Abstract

The subject of the so-called lechism and lechic terminology has been extensively discussed by the historiographic and linguistic literature. It is generally agreed that Lach is a Russian name of the representative of all Poles. *Lęch is supposed to be a Polish equivalent of this form. Thanks to Kadłubek in the 12th/13th c. there was established a denazalized version Lech. The paper defends the thesis that the form *Lęch was never present on the Polish soil. It has not been confirmed by the sources nor can it be indirectly proven on the basis of the so-called lęska terminology (Podlasze, Laszki, Gol(-ł)ęsz(-ż)yce). The main reason, however, why the name *Lęch was not used by Poles was its nickname character in relation to the basic form Lędzanin (Lędzianin) or perhaps Lędzic. Kadłubek’s form Lech is a Russian borrowing based on the local form *Lech Lach. The latter phenomenon may be explained by the fact that there was a tendency in dialect for a to be transformed into e after a soft vowel. This process has been confirmed in the local historical forms of the towns’ names Rzeszów *Rzaszów, Leżeńsko Lażeńsko which signal the places near Sandomierz in which Kadłubek created the Polish Lech.