Greek Word 16/2022

εκδίδω – literally “to give out”

The modern Greek for ‘give’ is δίνω but when combined with prefixes, the older form -δίδω is usually used as in the following examples: αποδίδω (yield or attribute), μεταδίδω (transmit or infect), προδίδω (betray).

εκδίδω has two main meanings: 1) publish or edit (books, papers, decisions, rulings etc) and 2) extradite. However, it is the third meaning that was new to me. It means to ‘give out’ a woman. In other words, to prostitute a woman. Βικιλεξικό defines it thus: κάνω μια γυναίκα πόρνη και της βρίσκω πελατεία επί πληρωμή = prostitute a woman and find her clients in return for payment. It also gives the more readily understandable εκπορνεύω as a synonym. The connection is more comprehensible if we think of ‘publish’ as making public. If a woman is prostituted, she is given out to the public. A horrible thought,

The standard word for a prostitute is πόρνη. The common word πουτάνα has a wider range of meaning, anything from prostitute (επί πληρωμή) to slut. It can also be devoid of sexual connotations; it just might mean the targeted woman is considered a horrible bitch as a human being.

More specific than πουτάνα is a word I copied and pasted in GW 14/2022: χαμούρα. This means a prostitute who does not have a bed or a room. And believe it or not, I have found two synonyms: τροτέζα and καλντεριμιτζού. Βικιλεξικό has this note of caution on τροτέζα. γαλλική trotteuse· η γαλλική λέξη ωστόσο δεν σημαίνει το ίδιο πράγμα με την ελληνική = from the French trotteuse; however, the French word does not mean the same thing as the Greek. Une trotteuse is the second hand of a watch or clock, an apt word for the watch hand that moves at a trot. The connection with trottoir (pavement) is not to be ignored, however. In Greek a καλντερίμι is a cobbled street, so ‘street-walker’ might be a good translation for χαμούρα, τροτέζα and καλντεριμιτζού.

Returning to εκδίδω, a pimp can εκδίδει a woman or a woman can εκδίδεται (go on the game). NB: a pimp is not an εκδότης. That is strictly an editor or a publisher. Likewise, εκδοτικός οίκος is a publishing house and NOT a brothel. Finally, the word for pimp is νταβατζής.

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