rzezimieszek (Polish)

Where does "rzezimieszek" come from?

The Polish noun 'rzezimieszek', meaning 'bandit, robber, thug' or 'cutpurse', is formed from the elements 'rzezać', meaning to cut, and 'mieszek', meaning a purse[1][2][3]. This compound formation mirrors semantic equivalents in other European languages, such as the English 'cutpurse' and the French 'coupe-bourse'. The word is first attested in historical records in 1581[1]. Its components reach deep into Slavic and Indo-European history, with 'rzezać' descending from Proto-Slavic '*rězati'[4] and ultimately Proto-Indo-European roots[6], while 'mieszek' derives from the Proto-Slavic form '*měšьkъ'[3].

Open questions

The intermediate Proto-Balto-Slavic and Proto-Indo-European ancestry stages for the cutting root are reconstructed forms. [6] [7]
The morphological breakdown of the Proto-Slavic purse term into '*měxъ' and suffix is based on surface analysis. [5]

Full etymology tree

rzezimieszek (Polish), 'bandit, robber, thug'
- compound rzezać (Polish), 'to cut, to incise (to cut into the surface of something)'
  - inherited rzezać (Old Polish), 'to cut, to slice'
    - inherited *rězati (Proto-Slavic), 'to cut, to slice'
      - inherited *rḗˀźtei (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'to cut'
        inherited *wréh₁ǵyeti (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *wreh₁ǵ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to break, tear'
- affix -i- (Polish), 'used in forming certain compounds'
- compound mieszek (Polish), 'diminutive of miech'
  - inherited *měšьkъ (Proto-Slavic), 'diminutive of *měxъ (“bag”): little bag'

Ancestors

rzezać (Polish)
-i- (Polish)
mieszek (Polish)

Cognates and doublets

cutpurse (English)
coupe-bourse (French)

Sources

Updated October 2026

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