Gniazd

Gniazd is the genitive plural form of the Polish noun gniazdo. The primary meaning of gniazdo is nest or den, especially for birds or other animals. It can also refer to a socket or receptacle, such as an electrical outlet or a port in a device. In different contexts, gniazdo may thus denote either a natural nesting place or an electrical/technical socket.

In Polish usage, gniazdo has two main senses that are disambiguated by context. When talking about wildlife, gniazdo refers to a bird’s nest or a similar resting place for animals. In technical or everyday modern language, gniazdo frequently means an electrical socket or port, for example a wall outlet or a USB socket. The plural form for nominative is gniazda, while the genitive plural, used in phrases like nie ma gniazd or pięć gniazd, is gniazd.

Grammatically, gniazd appears as the genitive plural form of gniazdo. It is used after numerals expressing five or more, and after negation, among other constructions that require the genitive plural. For example, pięć gniazd means five sockets, and nie ma gniazd means there are no sockets.

Etymology and related forms: The word gniazdo comes from longstanding Slavic roots and has cognates in other languages, such as Russian gnezdo and Czech hnízdo, all referring to a nest or cavity. The form gniazd is a regular genitive plural ending in Polish nouns of this class. See also gniazdo in computing and electrical contexts for contemporary usage.