As an addendum to my Greek Word 19/2021, γυναικοκτονία, it saddens me to report that yet another woman has been murdered by her ex. This time in Crete.
Anyway, my latest choice is:
κιοτεύω – kiotevo – to shrink from, to balk at, to be cowardly or to behave in a cowardly way.
It was used by Sia Kosioni of the Greek Sky News when discussing Fofi Gennimata and the health challenges she faced. I cannot remember Sioni’s exact words, but she said “Δεν κιότεψε ποτέ μπροστά στις…” As in English, κιοτεύω is probably used more often in the negative, since in its positive form it is far from complimentary. The following is from a novel called Hecate’s Smile: “Μαστίχα όμως δεν ξανάβαλε στο στόμα της, δε συγχώρεσε ποτέ τους Χιώτες. Κι όλο τους καταριόταν γιατί κιότεψαν μπροστά στο τούρκικο ασκέρι …” = She never put mastic in her mouth again. She never forgave the people of Chios. And she never stopped cursing them for buckling against the Turkish rabble.
κιοτεύω is the verb form of the noun κιοτής (plural κιοτήδες), which comes from kötü, the Turkish word for coward. A synonym for κιοτεύω is δειλιάζω.