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) /jaɡbɨ/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /jaɡbɨ/

Conjunction

jakby

  1. as if, like
    • 1901 [End of the fifteenth century], 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)
      [Prosił Ihusa, by sam oblicznie do niego stąpił, jakby nie dowierzał, by pan Ihs mogł uzdrowić syna jego, nie stępując oblicznie do niego (ac si non credidisset eum in absentia posse sanare)]

Descendants

  • Polish: jakby
  • Silesian: jakby

References

  • B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “jakby”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

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.
      [Velut, veluti adverbia similitudinis, Jakoby/ równie tak/ jako.]
  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.
      [Quasi adver. similitudinis jakoby/ Równie tak.]

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.
      [Instar [] Na ten kształt, jakoby.]
    • 1579, A. Calagius, Synonyma Latina, page 248b:
      Gleich wie. Iáko. Niby. Iákoby. Ut, uti, sicut.
      [Gleich wie. Jáko. Niby. Jakoby. 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.[1]

References

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

Further reading

  • jakby in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • jakby in Polish dictionaries at PWN
  • Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “jakby”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
  • JAKBY”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 28.07.2021
  • Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “jakby”, in Słownik języka polskiego
  • Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “jakby”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
  • J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “jakby”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 127

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

Further reading