… agriculture, i.e. the conversion of forests into fields, from which they were named ‘Polanie’ or ‘Polacy’. Długosz most accurately described the origin of this name: "The Lechites, especially those who lived in the fields, were called Polanie, i.e. field dwellers, by other related tribes who roamed the forests, and this name became so common among the people that the old name (Lechites) fell into oblivion, and the entire nation and country began to call itself Poland". It is impossible to determine exactly in which century this took place.

https://literat.ug.edu.pl/glogre/0005.htm

by opolsce

5 comments
  1. no ale tak się chyba tylko mówi w małopolsce i na podkarpaciu, większość kraju mówi “Dworzanie” 😉

  2. Słyszę “Polanie” i natychmiast przypomina mi się nasz rodzimy Warcraft z 1995 roku.

  3. Actually it seems ‘Polanie’ means something like ‘warriors’ or ‘warband’, from ‘going to the field’, as in ‘hetman polny’ , ‘mundur połowy etc. The group controlling Kyiv area, before the Varangians took over, we’re also called ‘Polanie’. In Old Ruthenian chronicles there’s a verb polakovat’, meaning to go to war. Długosz explanation is a typical naive folk etymology.

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