The role of names in the reconstruction of the linguacultural worldview of mushrooms

Abstract

The article shows the role of names in the reconstruction of the linguacultural view of mushrooms. The large number of the names of mushrooms testifies to the practical importance of mushrooms for country people. Many of the names are polysemic and synonymic. In the analysis, the onomasiological basis of mushroom names plays a crucial role. Those names can be based on the appearance of mushrooms (e.g. lejek ‘funnel’, czerwieniak ‘the red one’), their properties (twardziok ‘the hard one’, słodzianka ‘the sweet one’), including their (in)edibility and poisonous properties (grzyb godzący ‘the edible mushroom’, truciciel ‘poisoner’, grzyb jadowity ‘the poisionous mushroom’), as well as the time and place where they grow (wrześniak ‘September mushroom’, dębowiec ‘oak mushroom’).