Dialectal verb barłożyć (się)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight the origin, significance, and geographic distribution of the lexeme in two varieties of the Polish language: regional and dialectal. The data exemplifying the verb barłożyć (‘to laze around’) or its prefixed forms have been excerpted from historical dictionaries of the Polish language, dialect dictionaries and monographs, as well as online sources. The verb in question, derived from the noun barłóg, barłogo (‘a makeshift bed, lair’), is listed among regionalisms: a) from Warsaw, e.g., barłożyć meaning ‘to start fights/talk nonsense/sleep over at someone’s place’; b) from Poznań, where barłożyć means ‘to make a mess’; c) from Radom, where barłożyć or barłogować can mean ‘to laze around; to fool around with a girl’. Many more meanings of this verb are found in Polish dialects. In addition to those known in the standard language, in rural dialects barłożyć can also mean: a) ‘to squander, waste’, b) ‘to get in the way’, c) ‘to sit around idly at someone’s place; to waste time’, d) ‘to gossip’, e) ‘to not return from somewhere on time’, f) (about straw or grain): ‘to tangle, disorder’, g) ‘to behave improperly’, h) (about light rain): ‘to drizzle’.

The reflexive form barłożyć się similarly carries multiple meanings. In addition to the commonly known sense of ‘to lie in bed unwillingly’, dialects also use it to mean ‘to get disheveled’ and ‘to fade or flicker’. Dialect dictionaries also note prefixed forms such as: nabarłożyć (‘to make a mess’), rozbarłożyć (‘to squander’), zabarłożyć 1. ‘to litter’, 2. ‘to ruin, disrupt, interfere with something’, 3. ‘to fail to return from somewhere on time’.

The verb barłożyć is recognized and documented across all Polish dialects, although its meaning may vary from region to region. The richest set of examples occurs in the meanings ‘to litter, make a mess’ and ‘to talk nonsense, ramble’, as evidenced by sources ranging from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. As shown by its geographical distribution, the verb barłożyć appears in nearly all Polish dialect regions with these meanings. In other senses, it is found only in select dialectal areas. Similarly, the reflexive form barłożyć się in the meanings ‘to lie in bed unwillingly’, ‘to get disheveled’, and ‘to flicker or fade’ is also known only in certain dialect areas.