All Slavic: koża i kożuch

jasio

jasio

Senior Member
Warszawa, Polska
polski
Hi all,

Recently I realized that a Polish word "kożuch", meaning a jacket or a coat made of animal skin with some fur left on it*, https://i.abouthome.cz/img/8c1388ea031562c163ab0ea08b41ec.jpg) - typically sheep, but other animals would probably do as well, like goats - seems to be related to the Russian word "кожа", meaning "skin". And indeed, I found that there exists an outdated and forgotten word "koża", which used to mean "skin" in Polish, before it was replaced by the modern word "skóra" of different origin. This induced my curiosity, how some related words are used in your respective languages:
  1. skin (human)
  2. skin (animal)
  3. hide
  4. leather
  5. some products made of the above, which could have names derived from or related to the above words - like the aforementioned "kożuch"
In Polish they are respectively:
  1. skóra
  2. skóra
  3. skóra (niewyprawiona)
  4. skóra (garbowana, wyprawiona)
  5. kożuch (sheepskin coat), skóra (coll. "leather jacket")

Thank you very much in advance.


*) Please note that it's something different both from a leather jacket / coat, and a fur jacket / coat (which is typically made of fur animals, like foxes, minks, squirrels, etc)
Besides, both words, "skóra" and "kożuch" have in Polish a bunch of somewhat related meanings, including an outer layer of some fruit, a dense layer formed on boiled milk or on other liquids, algae or plants covering the surface of still water, bacteria or mold covering a surface, etc. - but they all seem to be secondary to me, and I'd leave them aside for the purpose of this thread.
 
    • Slovenian:

    1. koža
    2. (živalska) koža
    3. (strojena) koža
    4. usnje
    5. krzno (any kind of leather with fur left on it)

    Kožuh refers to the skin and fur together as well, either on the animal itself or in the form of clothing.
     
    In Slovak koža is "skin, skóra" (human or animal) and kožuch is practically the same as in Polish.

    (However, for me kožuch is rather a coat, not a jacket.)
     
    rotan said:
    This is quite common actually
    You could even say "Powiedz siostrze" and the other speaker would still understand you mean their sister
    Click to expand...

    francisgranada said:
    In Slovak koža is "skin, skóra" (human or animal) and kožuch is practically the same as in Polish.

    (However, for me kožuch is rather a coat, not a jacket.)
    Click to expand...
    In Polish is the same - 'kożuch' is a coat. A short fur coat / jacket, rather for women, we call 'kożuszek'. I think jasio wrote that 'skóra' is a colloquial expression for a 'leather jacket'.
     
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