Polka (etymology)

[Jan Ivarsson TransEdit]

It seems that English dictionaries usually give the Czech word "polka" (meaning Polish) as the origin.
My Swedish Music dictionary (Gereon Brodin, Musikordboken) as well as the French Petit Robert give another Czech word as the origin: "pulka", meaning "half-step". If you think of how you dance the polka this seems rather plausible, especially as the dance itself seems to be of Chech origin, not Polish.
Jan Ivarsson
jan.ivarsson at transedit.st