This is the 866th most frequent Polish word.
śmierć
"Śmierć" in English means "death."
Here, 'śmierć' is used as the subject of the sentence to represent the concept of death as an integral aspect of existence.
Śmierć jest częścią życia.
Death is a part of life.
The word 'śmierci' (the genitive form of 'śmierć') is used to show possession or relation, indicating an event related to the hero.
Historia opowiada o śmierci bohatera.
The story is about the death of the hero.
In this sentence, 'śmiercią' (the instrumental form of 'śmierć') is used in a prepositional phrase to describe the object of fear.