Studia Językoznawcze

The phrase pokazać, pokazywać plecy, although is present in the Polish language at least from the middle of the 19th century, has been scarcely documented in the language vocabularies. It is not registered in the NKPP. The SJPD and SFS were the first to note it, with merely two citations. In these vocabularies the phrase was assigned only one meaning, while in more recent lexicographic collections it functions as a polysemantic unit. None of its meanings, however, is a present day innovation, as all of them came into existence during the 19th and 20th centuries, although some weren’t noted by the vocabularies. Therefore, nowadays the phrase is used to express three meanings, the most prevailing of them today having come into existence most recently. The oldest citation containing it dates back to 1938 and testifies to the usage of the phrase in the sense “to pass someone, to be better in a bicycle race”. It had to be a rare usage at that time, as the next examples are from our times. They also point to the progressive generalization of its scope. Today, the phrase pokazać, pokazywać plecy is used in various sports to mean “to pass someone, to prove faster, better than someone”. Two further meanings of the phrase, today actualized definitely less frequently, appeared at the turn of the 20th century and initially were semantically poorer, while during their functioning in the language acquired new shadows of meaning. In its second meaning, the phrase pokazać, pokazywać plecy evolved from the sense “to turn one’s back on someone; go away, escape” to the present content “to turn one’s back on someone; go away, escape, depart, leave some place”. In the third meaning, the semantic evolution of the discussed phrase proceeded from the meaning noted in the contemporary “to turn one’s back on someone, leave someone in order to show them some negative feelings” to the content functioning today in the customary usages “to turn one’s back on someone showing them dislike, disregard or disdain, break off relations with someone, deny someone support, acceptance”.