μουνίκακας – munikakas
My last entry promised that this week’s word would be a lexical item not used in polite circles but, first of all, allow me to give you a little vocabulary lesson. Here are two English words which come from the Latin word for wife: ‘uxor’: uxorial and uxorious. The first is just a fancy word meaning ‘wifely’ as in, “The newly-married Mrs. Smith was quite uxorial in attending to matters of the household.” Uxorious, however, is more loaded. Webster’s defines it as “doting upon, foolishly fond of, or affectionately submissive toward one’s wife.” Μουνίκακας is definitely in the submissive part of the definition! Of course, it isn’t in the dictionaries, but www.slang.gr offers “Υποτιμητικά, ο άντρας ο εξαρτημένος από τον ποδόγυρο της γυναίκας του που δεν έχει μάτια για άλλες” which roughly translates as “Pejoratively, a man who is at his wife’s beck and call and who doesn’t look at other women”, thus corresponding reasonably well with Webster’s definition, although whether the submissiveness is affectionate or not is debatable. My understanding is that the μουνίκακας is also a victim of nagging so a polite translation would be ‘hen-pecked’. That said, and taking into account the first part of the word (μουνί), a much more accurate translation comes from the USA: ‘pussy-whipped’.