Former names of human communities featuring the społ- root and the associated evaluation in the Polish language

The article is devoted to rarer lexemes featuring the root społ- – spólność and społek/spółka, which refer to a human community, to their meanings and uses in the Polish language from the earliest period until the present. These belong to the vocabulary of the conceptual field of human community whose diachronic aspects heretofore have not been explored and which are relevant for complete understanding of the social organisation of Poles in various periods, for the functioning of the socio-political concepts in the consciousness of Poles and their position in the system of values. Polish vocabulary which belongs to this field involves nomina collectiva of varying range and nature. The article analyses contextual uses of one of rarer lexemes featuring the root społ-; there is an indication of a shift in meaning in the New Polish period. Special attention was devoted to the contexts which demonstrate evaluating connotations of words and their relation with the names of values in the history of the Polish language. The material basis is constituted by card indices of the relevant dictionaries of the Polish language.