Skip to content
Slovo
Sign in
← All words

Town & work

castle

Source:*zamъkъProto-Slavic · “lock, closure (from *zamykati 'to lock')”probable

The Polish 'lock = castle' pairing is usually explained as a calque of German Schloss; Russian and Ukrainian took the castle sense from Polish.

English

castle

Polish

zamek
ˈzamɛk
Learn freshDifferent words — learn this one fresh.

In all five languages

BCS script
  • Russian
    за́мокzamok
    ˈzaməkborrowed · Polish zamek

    Shift the stress and it is the native замо́к 'lock'.

  • Ukrainian
    за́мокzamok
    ˈzamɔkborrowed · Polish zamek
  • Polish
    zamek
    ˈzamɛkinherited

    Zamek is both 'castle' and 'lock', probably modelled on German Schloss.

  • Czech
    hrad
    ɦratdifferent word · Proto-Slavic *gordъ 'enclosure, fortified place'

    Czech zámek is a château, a stately home; hrad is the fortress.

  • Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian
    dvoracдворац
    ˈdvoratsdifferent word · Proto-Slavic *dvorъ 'court, yard'

    Standard-specific words: zamak (Serbian) — Also used in Bosnian.

  • English
    castle

Sound laws at work