The aim of this paper is to discuss the origin of the Polish word farmacja and establish its deep‑rooted etymology. The author provides an outline of the history of the word in Polish and presents its direct source, i.e. the Latin word pharmacia, describes the word family in Latin and indicates that the Greek etymon φαρμακεία provided the basis of the Latin form. The analysis of the word family, to which the Greek word belongs, showed a close relationship with semantic fields such as making poison and practising magic. The key expression turned out to be the Greek form φάρμακον, the origin of which remains unclear. Many hypotheses have been proposed, none of which, unfortunately, is satisfactory.

The text is an overview of the first volume of the lexical atlas of the Russian folk dialects. It presents modern cartographic methods used in the volume and types of maps contained therein. In order to better present the volume, one exemplary map is analysed, indicating its advantages and drawbacks. In conclusion the richness of the Russian dialectal lexical material, which was precisely geographically located, is stressed. This is the biggest merit of the atlas.

On December 6, 2022, Professor Hanna Taborska, an outstanding linguist, Slavicist, distinguished researcher of the Kashubian language, doctor honoris causa of the University of Gdańsk, Righteous Among the Nations passed away at the age of 92. She worked continuously for 58 years at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. She is the author of over 500 scientific publications, including fundamental works in the field of Kashubian and Slavic studies.

The aim of this article is a semantic and formal analysis of the name wrotycz and related names in Polish dialects against the Slavic background. The history and etymology of these names as well as their semantic motivation are presented. All names are based on the Proto‑Slavic causativum * vortiti ‘to make something spin, to turn’ due to assigning tansy a magical power that was generally meant to reverse bad things and restore good things. Everything indicates that the form * vortyčь is Proto‑Slavic, and this proves that the Slavs from ancient times treated tansy as an apotropaic plant.

The article offers an insight into the Slavonic contemporary etymological research and its new possibilities. Modern etymology has witnessed a seachange that can be referred to as a digital breakthrough. Thanks to the Internet and electronic media the etymologists today have easier access to historicallinguistic, dialectal and onomastic sources as well as to etymological dictionaries. They also better access to many monographs and studies. Moreover, today the etymologist has no problems making use of analogous materials published in foreign languages, the obtaining of which in the past had posed a major problem. This will clearly accelerate progress in etymological research, thereby opening up new vistas for etymology. We can research effectively the origins of dialectal and colloquial words as well as words no longer in use, a task which had earlier been very difficult.