ψωροκώσταινα
(Redirected from Ψωροκώσταινα)
Greek
editEtymology
editψωρο- (psoro-, “poor-”, from ψώρα "scabies" or "mange") + Κώσταινα (Kóstaina, feminine suffix for "wife of Kώστας"), see Κωνσταντίνος (Konstantínos).
Reputedly, the nickname of a very poor woman with surname Χατζηκώστα (Chatzikósta) or Χατζηκώσταινα (Chatzikóstaina) who contributed her meagre possession at a fund during the 1820s.
- Patrick Leigh Fermor likens the name to the English "Mangy Betty" (see quotation below.)
Pronunciation
editNoun
editψωροκώσταινα • (psorokóstaina) f
- (metonymically) Greece, an affectionate name used by Greeks of their homeland - it has intimations of poverty and affection.
- 2005, Sofka Zinovieff, Οδός Ευρυδίκης (Eurydice Street), Athens: Dioptra, page 35:
- "Καλωσορίσατε στην Ψωροκώσταινα" μου έγραψε ένας φίλος με e-mail όταν φτάσαμε στην Αθήνα ...
- "Kalosorísate stin Psorokóstaina" mou égrapse énas fílos me e-mail ótan ftásame stin Athína ...
- "Welcome to Psorokóstaina" a friend e-mailed me when I arrived in Athens ...
- 1958, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Mani, London: John Murray, page 208:
- But look how he [Venizelos] found Greece when he started. Do you remember what we used to call her Psorokóstaina - Mangy Betty! And look how he left her, one of the nations of the West with steady frontiers, double the size, friends with Turkey ...
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 2005, Sofka Zinovieff, Οδός Ευρυδίκης (Eurydice Street), Athens: Dioptra, page 35:
Usage notes
edit- The nickname as a female name, with initial capital Ψωροκώσταινα.
Declension
editDeclension of ψωροκώσταινα
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | ψωροκώσταινα • | ψωροκώσταινες • | |
genitive | ψωροκώσταινας • | ψωροκώσταινων • | |
accusative | ψωροκώσταινα • | ψωροκώσταινες • | |
vocative | ψωροκώσταινα • | ψωροκώσταινες • | |
Usually in the singular. |
Further reading
edit- ψωροκώσταινα, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language
- ψωροκώσταινα - Babiniotis, Georgios (2002) Λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας: […] [Dictionary of Modern Greek (language)] (in Greek), 2nd edition, Athens: Kentro Lexikologias [Lexicology Centre], 1st edition 1998, →ISBN.
- Ψωροκώσταινα on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia el