a question regarding an old Russian (or Polish) word

Mon Dec 4 15:48:13 UTC 2006

Edward M Dumanis wrote:

>I hope somebody might know what MORGOVNIK meant in Russian part of Poland
>in 1891. It is clear from the context of the church record that this word
>was related either to profession or to the citizen's status. Does anyone
>know more specifically what the actual meaning was? 
>

In volume 4 (1962) of the Doroszewski _Slownik jezyka polskiego_,  
_morgownik_ is defined as "chlop malorolny odrabiajacy panszczyzne w 
wymiarze godzin zaleznym od posiadanego gruntu" (a peasant smallholder 
performing his corvée [unpaid labor] for a quantity of hours dependent 
on the size of his holdings). [Polish text with diacritics appended below.]
    The term is derived from _morga_ = approximately .56 hectares (5600 
square meters).

Bob Rothstein

*"chłop małorolny odrabiający pańszczyznę w wymiarze godzin zależnym od 
posiadanego gruntu"

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