jakby

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Old Polish

Etymology

From jak +‎ -by. First attested in the end of the fifteenth century.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /jaɡbi/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /jaɡbi/

Conjunction

jakby

  1. as if, like
    • 1901 , Materiały i Prace Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, volume II, page 320:
      Proszyl Ihusa, bi szam oblycznye do nyego stąpyl, yakbi nye dowyerzal, bi pan Ihs mogl vszdrowycz szina gego nye stąpvyącz oblycznye do nyego (ac si non credidisset eum in absentia posse sanare)

Descendants

  • Polish: jakby
  • Silesian: jakby

References

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish jakby. By surface analysis, jak +‎ -by. Compare Kashubian jakbë.

Pronunciation

 
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɡbɘ
  • Syllabification: jak‧by

Conjunction

jakby

  1. introduces an unreal conditional; if
    Synonyms: gdyby, jeśliby
  2. as if, as though
    Synonyms: jak, jak gdyby, tak jakby
  3. (obsolete) just to
    Synonyms: byle, żeby
  4. (Middle Polish) in order to, so that
    Synonyms: aby, żeby
  5. (Middle Polish) introduces a subordinate clause; that
    Synonym: że
  6. (Middle Polish) The meaning of this term is uncertain.
    • 1564, J. Mączyński, Lexicon, page 479b:
      Velut, veluti adverbia similitudinis, Iákoby/ równie ták/ yáko.
  7. (Middle Polish) as, at the same time as; Further details are uncertain.
    • 1564, J. Mączyński, Lexicon, page 338c:
      Quasi adver. similitudinis Iákoby/ Równie ták.

Declension

Particle

jakby

  1. kinda, like, as though
    Synonyms: jak gdyby, niby, poniekąd, tak jakby
  2. as if, as though
    Synonyms: jak, jak gdyby, jakoby
  3. (Middle Polish) almost, nearly; approximately
    Synonyms: prawie, mniej więcej, niemal, około
  4. (Middle Polish) clarification particle; that is; namely; for example
  5. (Middle Polish) creates a conditional third person imperative; let, may
    Synonym: niechby
  6. (Middle Polish) The meaning of this term is uncertain.
    • 1564, J. Mączyński, Lexicon, page 171b:
      Instar Ná ten xtałt, yákoby.
      Na ten kształt, jakoby.]
    • 1579, A. Calagius, Synonyma Latina, page 248b:
      Gleich wie. Iáko. Niby. Iákoby. Ut, uti, sicut.

Derived terms

conjunction/particle

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), jakby is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 18 times in scientific texts, 1 time in news, 7 times in essays, 143 times in fiction, and 89 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 258 times, making it the 203rd most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

  1. ^ Ida Kurcz (1990) “jakby”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 160

Further reading

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish jakby. By surface analysis, jak +‎ -by.

Pronunciation

Conjunction

jakby

  1. introduces an unreal conditional; if
  2. as if, as though

Declension

Combined forms of jakby
singular plural
1st person jakbych jakbychmy
2nd person jakbyś jakbyście
3rd person jakby jakby

Further reading