Word origins

• DiakoptoA coastal town in Achaea, West Greece, Greece.
• dialytikaA diaeresis or trema in the Greek alphabet
• DidymoteichoA town located in the eastern part of the Evros Prefecture of Thrace, Greece.
• diobolonA Greek copper coin of the mid-19th century.
• DodekatheismSynonym of Hellenism (the modern-day revival of the polytheistic religious system of Ancient Greece)
• dolmadakiA rice mixture with fresh herbs such as mint and parsley and, sometimes, pine nuts, with tender grape leaves, served with a thick and creamy, lemony sauce. Also, in some regions, minced meat is added tightly wrapped.
• dolmadeA dolma.
• DoukakisA transliteration of the Greek surname Δουκάκης (Doukákis).
• EftychiaA female given name from Ancient Greek, meaning happiness or good luck (archaic).
• EgyptiotA member of the Greek community historically living in Egypt.
• EiriniA transliteration of the Greek female given name Ειρήνη (Eiríni).
• EkateriniA transliteration of the Greek female given name Αικατερίνη (Aikateríni).
• ElefsinaA suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit regional unit of Greece, site of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
• EllinikoA city and suburb of Athens in Attica, Greece.
• elosA village in the Laconia region, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece.
• enosisAny political movement aiming to incorporate Greek-populated areas currently outside Greece into Greece.
• estiatorioA Greek restaurant, especially one that is more upmarket and elaborate than a taverna.
• EvanthiaFormer name of Aydin: a city in southwestern Turkey.
• fakelakiAn envelope containing cash, offered as a bribe in Greece.
• fanouropitaA Greek oil-based sweet cake, traditionally Lenten and served on Saint Phanourios’ feast day on August 27, not containing any butter or eggs so that it can be eaten on holy fasting days.
• fasoladaA Greek, Mediterranean, and Cypriot soup of beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
• fevgaA Greek game resembling backgammon.
• filaktoA sacramental (sacred sign) that is pinned to one's clothing in order to ward off Satan.
• flaounaA kind of cheese-filled pastry eaten in Cyprus during Easter and Ramadan.
• flogheraA Greek folk instrument of the end-blown flute family; a simple form of recorder.
• FotiniA transliteration of the Greek female given name Φωτεινή (Foteiní).
• fustanellaA form of skirt or kilt traditionally worn by men in Albania, Greece and other parts of the Balkans.
• galaktobourekoA Greek dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo.
• GianakisA transliteration of the Greek surname Γιαννάκης (Giannákis).
• GlynosA surname from Greek.
• GoudiRefers to a suburb of Athens, where significant events took place in Modern Greek history.
• Greek People's Liberation ArmyThe military wing of the National Liberation Front (EAM)
• GrigoriouA transliteration of the Greek surname Γρηγορίου (Grigoríou).
• GrikoAn ethnically Greek people of southern Italy and Sicily, descended from Byzantine and ancient Greek colonies.
• halloumiA traditional cheese from Cyprus, made from goat's and/or sheep's milk.
• hasapikoA Greek folk dance from Constantinople.
• Hellenic RepublicOfficial name of Greece: a country in Southeastern Europe.
• horiatikiGreek salad
• IoulianaThe events of July 1965, an important episode in modern Greek history concerning a disagreement between the Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou and the King Constantine II that led to a constitutional crisis. The political instability of this crisis allowed a group of colonels, under the context of the Cold War, to stage a coup leading to the Greek Junta (1967-1974).
• ipotaneA mythical creature depicted as a half-human, half-horse that is supposedly different from a centaur, sometimes attributed to Greek mythology.
• kafenioA Greek coffeehouse or cafe.
• KakosA surname from Greek.
• kalamarakiaA Greek dish of deep-fried squid.
• KalamatianosA Greek folk dance from the Peloponnese.
• KalavrytaA town and municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece.
• KaliardaA cant used by the homosexual community in Greece, similar to Polari in Britain, in use since the 1940s. It uses a large amount of borrowings from French, Italian and Turkish. Once a secret language to evade the hostile community, it is now widely known thanks to television and thus not used much nowadays.
• kalitsouniaSmall cheese or herb pies in Cretan cuisine; they may be sweet or salty, and either baked or fried.
• kallikantzarosA mythical, malevolent goblin-like spirit of Southeastern European and Anatolian folklore.
• KalliopiA transliteration of the Greek female given name Καλλιόπη (Kalliópi).
• KalomoiraA transliteration of the Greek female given name Καλομοίρα (Kalomoíra).
• Kalo NeroA village in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece.
• karidopitaA Greek walnut cake.
• kasseriA medium-hard pale yellow cheese of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, usually made from unpasteurized sheep milk.
• KatakoloA small town on the sea in Elis, West Greece, Greece.
• katharevousaA learned, archaising form of Modern Greek, based on Classical Greek and used for formal and official purposes; it was legally displaced as the official language of Greece in 1976 by Demotic Greek.
• katsaridaphobiaFear or dislike of cockroaches.
• kazisA surname from Greek.
• kefalogravieraA hard Greek cheese with a salty flavour and rich aroma, made from sheep milk.
• kefalotyriA Greek cheese similar to parmesan.
• KefalovrysiA town in Greece located in the northern part of the Ioannina prefecture.
• kefiHigh spirits, ebullience, chiefly in Greece or among Greek people.
• keftedesA Greek dish of meatballs, similar to koftas.
• KeosOne of the Cyclades situated in front of Sunium
• KiatoA town in the northern part of Corinthia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece.
• KifissiaA suburb east-northeast of Athens in North Athens, Attica, Greece.
• kleftA type of brigand operating in the mountains of pre-Revolutionary Greece.
• kleftikoA Greek dish of lamb marinated and baked on the bone.
• klephtAn anti-Ottoman insurgent living in the mountains when Greece was a part of the Ottoman Empire.
• KoiliarisA surname from Greek.
• kokoretsiA traditional Greek dish typically consumed at Easter, consisting mainly of seasoned lamb or goat offal.
• komboskiniA rope of usually 33, 50 or 100 knots, used in meditative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic tradition, to count one's recitations of the Jesus Prayer.
• konakiA shrine for the Anastenaria.
• KonstadinaA transliteration of the Greek female given name Κωνσταντίνα (Konstantína).
• KonstadinosA transliteration of the Greek male given name Κωνσταντίνος (Konstantínos).
• KonstantinaA transliteration of the Greek female given name Κωνσταντίνα (Konstantína).
• kopanistiA traditional cheese made in the Cyclades.
• koulouriA bagel or ring doughnut shaped bread roll covered with sesame or sunflower seeds, often sold on the streets of Greece and Cyprus.
• koumbarosThe person who, during a Greek Orthodox wedding, exchanges the crowns over the couple's heads and has other related roles
• koumpounophobiaThe fear of buttons (clothing fasteners).
• kourabiedesAlmond biscuits or cookies popular in the Greek and Cypriot communities.
• KoutsosA surname.
• kri-kriferal Cretan goat
• KritikosA surname from Greek.
• laocracyDirect democracy, as opposed to representative parliamentary democracy.
• laoutoA Greek or Cypriot musical instrument of the lute family.
• LaskarisA transliteration of the Greek surname Λάσκαρης (Láskaris).
• LekasA surname from Greek.
• LivadeiaA town in the Central Greece region of Greece.
• loukanikoA Greek sausage flavoured with orange peel, fennel seed, and other seasonings, and sometimes smoked over aromatic wood.
• loukoumadesPastries made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, and sometimes sprinkled with sesame. (used especially of the Greek version of these pastries)
• loukoumiTurkish delight.
• lountzaA Cypriot dish of pork tenderloin brined and marinated in red wine, then dried and smoked.
• MalliotakisA surname from Greek.
• ManarisA village in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece.
• ManiotA native or inhabitant of the Mani Peninsula in (what is now) southern Greece.
• mantinadaAn improvised Cretan rhyming couplet.
• MastichochoriaSouthern region of the Greek island Chios, where about 25 villages produce the gum mastic
• MavridisA surname from Greek.
• mavrodaphneA dark sweet Greek red wine.
• megalopoliAn ancient city and modern town in Greece located in the southwestern Arcadia prefecture.