> It's a combination of two suffixes (also occurring in isolation):
the patronymic or possessive *-ov- (as in Ivan-ov or Gasior-ow-ski,
with the variant *-ev-, originally added to roots ending in a palatal
consonant), and patronymic *-ik- > *-ic [-its]/*-ic^ [-itS]. The
<c/c^> results from the so-called progressive palatalisation in late
Common Slavic, producing different reflexes in different dialects.
>
> Older Polish surnames had the West Slavic ending -(ow)ic/-(ew)ic,
but now they mostly have -owicz/-ewicz [-ovitS] due to East Slavic
influence radiating from the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the
Polonised gentry in those parts had surnames in -icz).
>
> Piotr
But what, precisely, does the Polish -ski derive from?
And why do Russian names have the alteration Ivanov/Ivanovitch (as the
second element of a Russian name, my recollection is that the -ovitch
form is the one used for males, -ovna for females.).
I've read in popular sources that it is virtually impossible to
converse in Russian, with a Russian, unless he knows your father's
name.