istota

See also: istotą

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *jьstota. By surface analysis, isty +‎ -ota. First attested in c. 1450.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

istota f

1. (law) confirmation (certifying, stating, strengthening a legal act, submitting a declaration, certifying activity)
   • 1885-2024 [c. 1450], Jan Baudouina de Courtenay, Jan Karłowicz, Antoni Adam Kryńskiego, Malinowski Lucjan, editors, Prace Filologiczne‎^[2], volume IV, page 570:

     Gystoti experimentum

     [Jistoty experimentum]

2. (law) document of proof of eligibility
   • 1856-1870 [1466], Antoni Zygmunt Helcel, editor, Starodawne Prawa Polskiego Pomniki‎^[3], volume II, number 3839:

     Pecunie sibi debuntur, ostendat aliquod jus al. *gistota[thy], quam super eandem domum habet

     [Pecunie sibi debuntur, ostendat aliquod jus al. jistotę[thy], quam super eandem domum habet]

Descendants

• Polish: istota
  • → Old Ruthenian: истота (istota)
• Silesian: istota

References

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “istota”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Mańczak, Witold (2017) “istota”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “istota”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “istota”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “istota”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish istota. By surface analysis, isty +‎ -ota.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /isˈtɔ.ta/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /isˈtɔ.ta/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔta
• Syllabification: is‧to‧ta

Noun

istota f (diminutive istotka)

1. (countable) being (living organism)
2. (countable) being (unreal thing with human or animal characteristics)
3. (uncountable) essence (most important and fundamental thing about something)

   Synonyms: ekstrakt, esencja, rdzeń, sól, substancja

4. (uncountable, literary) essence, being (totality of features that constitute being someone or something)
5. (uncountable, obsolete) certainty (sureness of one's belief)

   Synonym: pewność

6. (uncountable, obsolete, except in set phrases, medicine) matter (that which constitutes the body)
7. (countable, Middle Polish) foundation

   Synonym: fundament

8. (uncountable, Middle Polish) security, guarantee, assurance; reliability; protection
   1. (countable, Middle Polish) document assuring such security
   2. (countable, Middle Polish, law) type of warranty or surety
9. (uncountable, Middle Polish) existence

   Synonym: istnienie

10. (countable, Middle Polish) property, estate

    Synonyms: majątek, mienie

Declension

Declension of istota

	singular	plural
nominative	istota	istoty
genitive	istoty	istot
dative	istocie	istotom
accusative	istotę	istoty
instrumental	istotą	istotami
locative	istocie	istotach
vocative	istoto	istoty

Derived terms

adjectives

• istotny

 

nouns

• istota biała
• istota rzeczy
• istota szara

 

particles

• w istocie
• w istocie rzeczy

 

Related terms

adverbs

• istotnie

 

nouns

• istotność

 

Descendants

• → Old Ruthenian: истота (istota)

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), istota is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 21 times in scientific texts, 3 times in news, 20 times in essays, 6 times in fiction, and 7 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 57 times, making it the 1129th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Further reading

• istota in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• istota in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “istota”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “ISTOTA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 19.09.2008
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “istota”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎^[4]
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “istota”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎^[5]
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “istota”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎^[6] (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 112