Rozprawa

Rozprawa is a Polish noun of feminine gender with several related meanings. In the legal context, it denotes a formal hearing or trial in a court, such as rozprawa sądowa, during which evidence is presented and arguments are heard. The phrase na rozprawie refers to being present at the hearing, and rozprawa apelacyjna describes an appeal hearing. In everyday language, rozprawa can also mean the proceedings of a case as a whole or, more loosely, an intensive discussion conducted in a formal setting.

In a broader sense, rozprawa also signifies a formal discussion or argument, a session in which people debate a topic, often publicly or within an institution. This sense emphasizes reasoning and deliberation. The related verb rozprawiać or rozprawiać się conveys the act of arguing, discussing at length, or settling a matter through debate.

In academic usage, rozprawa refers to a scholarly treatise or extensive written work on a topic. The characteristic phrases are rozprawa doktorska (doctoral dissertation) and rozprawa habilitacyjna. In polemical or literary contexts, it can denote a lengthy argument or a refutation of given theses. A related term, rozprawka, denotes a shorter school essay or composition, and should not be confused with rozprawa, which implies a more formal or prolonged nature.

Etymology traces the word to the prefix roz- and the verb rozprawiać, meaning to discuss, argue, or settle by reasoning. See also: proces, sąd, debata, rozprawka.