Psorokóstaina

Psorokóstaina

English

Etymology

From Greek Ψωροκώσταινα (Psorokóstaina).

Proper noun

Psorokóstaina

1. An affectionate name used by Greeks of their homeland; it has intimations of poverty and affection.
   • 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 ...