EN
This paper presents a fragment of research on the history of the Polish geographical vocabulary. In the 18th century, geography became a separate discipline of modern knowledge and, in consequence, also an independent school subject. Handbooks are valuable sources in analysing discipline-related lexis, in particular in the period when this word resource was formed in the Polish language. This paper discusses various methods of introducing and explaining geographical vocabulary that are applied in handbooks, and the characteristics of the lexis of those days, such as vague distinctions of semantic scopes of lexemes, lack of stabilisation of the resource. The examinations of the material enable the observation of the evolving crystallisation process of the Polish geographical vocabulary. Handbooks have undoubtedly played a signifi cant role in popularising geographical lexis.