τσίπουρο

Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Has been claimed to have been borrowed from Ottoman Turkish جبره (cibre, “grape pomace”), although according to different sources the borrowing occurred the other way round.

Alternatively, a relation to Ancient Greek σίκερα n (síkera, “a strong fermented drink”), which is from Biblical Hebrew שֵׁכָר m (šēḵār, “alcoholic drink”), has also been suggested.

Unrelated to the superficially similar τσιπούρα f (tsipoúra, “gilt-head bream, Sparus aurata”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡si.pu.ɾo/
• Hyphenation: τσί‧που‧ρο

Noun

τσίπουρο • (tsípouro) n (plural τσίπουρα)

1. tsipouro (an alcoholic spirit made from the distillation of grape pomace, sometimes flavoured with aniseed or other herbs)

Declension

Synonyms

• ρακή f (rakí), ρακί n (rakí)
• στεμφυλόπνευμα n (stemfylópnevma)
• (Cretan) τσικουδιά f (tsikoudiá)
• (Cypriot) ζιβανία f (zivanía)
• (Western and Central Macedonian) γράπα f (grápa)
• (Chiot) σούμα f (soúma)

Derived terms

• τσίπουρα n pl (tsípoura, “grape pomace, mace”) (metonymically)
• τσιπουράδικο n (tsipourádiko, “an establishment selling tsipouro”)
• τσιπουράκι n (tsipouráki, “a small amount of tsipouro”) (diminutive)
• τσιπουροκατάνυξη f (tsipourokatányxi, “group consumption of a large amount of tsipouro”)
• τσιπουρομεζές n (tsipouromezés, “meze served with tsipouro”)

References

Further reading

• τσίπουρο on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el
• τσίπουρο - Charalambakis, Chistoforos et al. (2014) Χρηστικό λεξικό της νεοελληνικής γλώσσας (Christiko lexiko tis Neoellhnikis Glossas) (in Greek) Athens: Academy of Athens. (online since 2023 - abbreviations - symbols)