nocny

Nocny is a Polish adjective meaning related to the night or occurring during nighttime. It describes time-specific, event-specific, or activity-specific attributes, such as services, transportation, or work that take place after dusk.

Etymology and cognates: The word derives from noc, meaning night. It has cognates in other Slavic languages, including Russian nochnoj, Czech noční, and Ukrainian nochnyi, all sharing a common Proto-Slavic root related to night. Polish forms follow standard adjective departure and inflection patterns.

Usage and grammar: In Polish, nocny is typically used before masculine singular nouns and agrees in gender, number, and case (nocny ruch, nocny transport, nocny patrol). For feminine or neuter nouns, the forms nocna and nocne are used (e.g., praca nocna, usługi nocne). When speaking about nocturnal animals, Polish usually uses the construction zwierzę nocne (a nocturnal animal) rather than placing nocny directly before the noun, which can sound unusual in that context. The term can also appear in compound phrases to designate night-time versions of services or operations, such as transport nocny or patrol nocny.

Nuances and usage notes: Nocny often conveys a scheduled or regular nighttime activity rather than merely describing a creature that is active at night. In everyday language, other expressions such as w nocy (at night) or nocą (by night) may be used to emphasize timing without attributing nocturnality to a noun.

See also: Noční, the Czech cognate; nochnoi in Russian; linguistic notes on Polish adjective inflection.