Balkans
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editOf Turkic origin; compare Turkish balkan (“wooded mountain range”).[1] Probably unrelated to balk (“ridge of land”).
Pronunciation
editProper noun
editBalkans
- A geographical region in southeastern Europe, roughly equivalent to the area covered by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, sometimes including Romania, Slovenia, and European Turkey. [19th c.]
- 2002, Dennis P. Hupchick, The Balkans: From Constantinople to Communism, page 104:
- As the Ottomans' victories in the Balkans multiplied, increasing numbers of Anatolian warriors flocked to their ranks, and their territorial conquests grew.
- 2015, Anastas Vangeli, “On the Growing Cooperation Between China and the Western Balkans”, in Nikolaos Papakostas, Nikolaos Pasamitros, editors, An Agenda for the Western Balkans: From Elite Politics to Social Sustainability, Stuttgart, page 182:
- The Balkans is still comparatively less attractive than other post-communist countries in Europe [...]
Usage notes
edit- Used with the definite article the and construed as a plural.
Synonyms
edit- (geographical region): Balkan Peninsula
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editgeographical region in the southeast of Europe — see also Balkan Peninsula
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Further reading
editReferences
edit- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Balkans”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
German
editPronunciation
editProper noun
editBalkans
Swedish
editProper noun
editBalkans
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English terms derived from Turkic languages
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- en:Regions of Europe
- English terms with quotations
- en:Peninsulas
- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German non-lemma forms
- German proper noun forms
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish proper noun forms