żaba (Polish)

Where does "żaba" come from?

The Polish noun 'żaba', meaning frog, jack, tongue-and-groove pliers, or breaststroke[1], is inherited from Old Polish 'żaba'[1]. Going back further, it descends from the Proto-Slavic reconstructed form '*žaba'[1], which itself derives from an earlier reconstructed form '*žěba'[2].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Proto-Slavic root is uncertain, with proposed connections to Old Prussian and Latin terms resting on disputed vowel qualities and sound laws. [2]

Full etymology tree

• żaba (Polish), 'frog, especially any true frog or ranid'
  • inherited żaba (Old Polish)
    • inherited *žaba (Proto-Slavic), 'frog, toad'
      • derived *žěba (Proto-Slavic)
        • inherited *gʷh₂béh₂ ~ *gʷh₂bowéh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• *žaba (Proto-Slavic)

Sources

1. żaba (Polish) - Wiktionary
2. žaba (Proto-Slavic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris