φυτευτός: literally, it refers to a plant that is not native to a region. I suppose potatoes and tomatoes in Europe fall into that category. The opposite - ‘growing naturally’ – is αυτοφυής as in αυτοφυή φυτά, native plants. The word has been used recently to describe Stefanos Kasselakis, the new leader of SYRIZA, the... Continue Reading →
23/014 Greek Word
This time a phrase rather than a word. Western ideas can take a while to make their way to Greece. For example, the #MeToo movement was about three years behind, but it did end at least two careers. Now one horrible idea has hit Greece: zero hours contracts. Professional people are lucky to earn €700... Continue Reading →
23/013 Greek Word
μανούρα = a ball ache. Well, that was the translation my bilingual interlocutor proffered. It is a colloquial word, not as vulgar as my interlocutor’s translation. It’s also missing from several dictionaries including the Babiniotis. My Word Reference app defined it as “sth: requires effort” or “κτ που θέλει κόπο” while giving ταλαιπωρία as a... Continue Reading →
23/012 Greek Word
λαθροϋλοτόμος – an illegal logger I came across this in an article about a forest ranger being the victim of a serious attack by an illegal logger who hit the man on the head with a metal bar. This is the article: https://www.ethnos.gr/greece/article/267539/poseginehepitheshmeoploapolathroylotomosyxnaantimetopoimediaplhktismoysoidasikoiypallhloileipoyn1000atomaapotisyphresies The word has three parts: λαθρο = hidden/secret so by extension ‘illegal’... Continue Reading →
23/011 Greek Word
εκπαραθυρώνω – defenestrate I love it when a word is immediately understandable. In Greek, like English, it can be used literally and metaphorically. The current metaphorical favourite in British English is ‘throw someone under/in front of a bus’. Were I to translate that into Greek, I would probably choose εκπαραθυρώνω. As Greek has borrowed extensively... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 23/010
παράσυρση = running over and dragging a pedestrian or a cyclist along the road. Word’s spellcheck does not recognise the above. It offers alternatives like παράλυση and παράφυση. Nor does Babiniotis have it as a headword or even within the definition of its parent verb παρασύρω. The word caught my attention when I saw this... Continue Reading →
23/009 Greek Word
ετεροδημότης (fem: ετεροδημότισσα) = someone who lives in one municipality but who is registered to vote in another. It’s election time. Maybe it’s because I live outside the city that the campaigns seem less febrile than usual. Besides, Sunday 21st May will likely be Round 1, so the real battles will take place from Monday... Continue Reading →
23/008 Greek Word
σκαρφίζομαι = dream up, make up, come up with an (improbable) story, επινοώ I got this from the telly. There is a channel on Nova called Epic Drama, mostly consisting of murder mysteries such as the Canadian series Murdoch, a UK/Austrian series called Vienna Blood, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, and other UK staples such as... Continue Reading →
23/007 Greek Word
Λέτσος = shabbily dressed, a borrowing from the Italian ‘lezzo’. The Dictionary of Greek goes further: Άνθρωπος βρόμικος και κακοντυμένος, κουρελής μτφ. α) άνθρωπος χωρίς αξία και σοβαρότητα β) άνθρωπος με άσχημους τρόπους και άσχημη εμφάνιση. What amused me, on overhearing two women talking, was that they were not talking about some tramp hovering nearby... Continue Reading →
23/006 Greek Word
κουτσουπιά = Judas tree, also known as δέντρο του Ιούδα We drove down to Athens on 9th April, our Easter Sunday and Orthodox Palm Sunday. The motorway was unusually quiet - almost like driving in Peak Covid again. For large stretches, on both sides of the motorway one could see beautiful lilac-coloured trees. Apparently, they... Continue Reading →
23/005 Greek Word
καρμίρης, plural καρμίρηδες, feminine form καρμίρω Basically, it means a miserable git, a bit of a miser, too mean to enjoy life if it involves spending money. Άνθρωπος μίζερος, κακομοίρης που δεν χαίρεται τη ζωή, για να μην ξοδέψει λεφτά. (Babiniotis) It seems to have developed from an earlier form of κακομοίρης, the Hellenistic κάρμοιρος... Continue Reading →
23/004 Greek Word
μπούλιγκ = bullying One of the surprising problems teachers encounter among English language learners is the -ing form of two-syllable verbs ending in “y” e.g bully, carry, marry, scurry, worry. Even good students will say and write bulling, carring , marring, scurring, worring, finding it hard to produce all three syllables. The problem is less... Continue Reading →
23/003 Greek Word
I’m more interested in the suffix than the word itself. ψαρίλα = the unpleasant smell of fish. Not a compliment. Babiniotis states: η δυνατή και απωθητική μυρωδιά του ψαριού Often preceded by μυρίζει or βρωμάει, it is a complaint. I suppose βρωμάει gives it added force.Μυρίζει ψαρίλα = It stinks of fish Βρωμάει ψαρίλα =... Continue Reading →
23/002 Greek Word
κάβος Two meanings. 1) a cape or headland and 2) the thick mooring rope used to secure a boat Παίρνω κάβο = to begin to understand, the penny drops I saw it used with the verb ξεπερνώ as in ξεπέρασε η κυβέρνηση τον κάβο… meaning the government had got round one problem. Not to be... Continue Reading →
23/001 Greek Word
ξενέρωτος – η – ο adjective meaning 1) sober and 2) boring A good word to start off 2023 after eleven days of Christmas. One more to go and the festive period is over. ξενέρωτος comes from the verb ξενερώνω which means to sober up or to sober someone else up. This conjures up images... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 30/2022
μόριο – a molecule A molecular biologist is a μοριακός βιολόγος and μοριακό βάρος is molecular weight. Less scientifically it can mean a ‘speck’. In grammar επιρρηματικά μόρια are adverbial particles (words like δε, θα, να, μεν). And now we return to biology because μόριο is a euphemism for penis. In the article below, the... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 29/2022
Φόλα = poison, especially poison laid out for stray dogs The bane of my life. A lifelong cat-lover, I have been betrayed by both my children, who prefer dogs. My elegant daughter has an equally elegant King Charles. My son has a rough-and-tumble Belgian Shepherd cross, a bit like him! Both are beautiful animals, and... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 28/2022
σουρτούκω Opposite the Dubliner in Katouni Street, Thessaloniki, there is a restaurant called Σουρτούκω. My wife told me σουρτούκω means a woman who doesn’t like staying indoors or being a housewife, and who likes going out all the time. It is a variant of σουρτούκα. The masculine form is σουρτούκης (plural σουρτούκηδες), but the feminine... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 27/2022
κλούβιος 1) rotten, 2) stupid The word collocates with αυγό as in κλούβιο αυγό meaning a rotten egg. In this case it is not used metaphorically in the way ‘bad egg’ is used in English to describe a wicked or unpleasant person, which in Greek would be αυτός είναι κακιάς κοπής. Its second meaning is... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 26/2022
ζουρλομανδύας = straitjacket The word came up in conversation, and it struck me as odd as the first part – ζουρλο – definitiely isn’t Greek. It isn’t even a word a student would use in a school essay. Apparently, it’s of Venetian origin. The second part – μανδύας – meant a woollen cloak in Ancient... Continue Reading →