dziwy

Dziwy is a Polish adjective with historical and literary status, traditionally meaning "marvelous," "wondrous," or "extraordinary." In earlier texts it could also carry shades of "strange" or "wonderful," but in modern standard Polish the word is largely literary or archaic. Contemporary usage favors synonyms such as dziwny for "strange" and cudowny or wspaniały for "wonderful." Dziwy commonly appears in poetic, religious, or folkloric contexts, where it can describe miracles, marvels, or remarkable events.

In practical text, dziwy is often found in phrases referring to extraordinary occurrences, such as dziwy cud or other descriptions of supernatural or remarkable happenings. Its presence signals a more elevated, antiquated tone and is typical of older Polish prose and poetry, as well as religious writings and folklore traditions. Because of its archaic flavor, the word is studied in linguistic and literary contexts when exploring the history of Polish vocabulary or the stylistic devices of historic authors.

Etymology traces dziwy to old Slavic roots connected with the verb dziwić, meaning "to surprise" or "to marvel." It shares conceptual links with related words across the Slavic language sphere that express wonder or astonishment. Today, dziwy is primarily of interest to philologists, translators, and readers exploring historical texts, rather than a commonly used term in everyday speech.