Polionimia, czyli „wojna nazw”

The article is an analysis of the phenomenon of polyonymy in geographical names, which is defined asany instability of onyms involving phonetic, morphological and lexical changes. The manifestations ofpolyonymy are examined in different types of toponyms, particularly new names (for objects) which werederived from other lexical foundations. Selected, representative examples illustrate the scope of thesechanges, mainly in the diachronic area, in the names of rivers, villages and caves. Non-linguistic causes ofpolyonymy are indicated, which are mostly but not exclusively, consequences of the activities of externalusers – allochthons, including people who marshal the onymic space: cartographers, codifiers.