zawodem

Zawodem is the instrumental singular form of the Polish noun zawód, which means profession or occupation. The noun zawód is masculine and commonly used to refer to a person’s line of work or trade. Its basic inflection includes a genitive form zawodu (often used with the preposition z to mean “by trade”), as in the common expression by trade: „z zawodu”. The instrumental form zawodem is one of several grammatical cases that Polish nouns take to fit different syntactic roles.

Morphology notes:

- Singular: nominative zawód, genitive zawodu, dative zawodowi, accusative zawód, instrumental zawodem, locative zawodzie.

- Plural: nominative zawody, genitive zawodów, dative zawodom, accusative zawody, instrumental zawodami, locative zawodach.

The instrumental form zawodem is used primarily to express means, accompaniment, or other constructions where the instrumental case is required, and it can appear in more formal or literary contexts.

Usage considerations:

- In everyday Polish, to convey “by profession” or “by trade,” speakers more commonly use the genitive form with z, as in z zawodu, or simply state the occupation directly (e.g., jestem inżynierem).

- The instrumental zawodem is relatively rare for stating one’s occupation and tends to appear in older texts, certain formal registers, or specific syntactic constructions where the instrumental case is required.

Etymology and relations:

- Zawód historically denotes an occupation or office and is related to other West Slavic terms for work or trade. The word forms part of the broader family of Polish occupational nouns and their case inflections.

See also:

- Zawód

- Zawodowy

- Profesja

- By trade (translation of z zawodu)