Balkan
/ˈbɔːlkən/noun
Relating to the Balkan Peninsula or its peoples and cultures.
Did you know?The word is tied to a Turkic term for a wooded, rugged mountain chain, and that same root also gave English the word for a kind of muddy, marshy ground in some dialects.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
Balkan
“A name for the Balkan Peninsula and its peoples, especially in geopolitical and cultural contexts.”
19th Century
German/European usage
Balkan
“The Balkan Mountains and, by extension, the southeastern European region beyond them.”
Ottoman Turkish
Turkish
balkan
“A wooded mountain or mountain chain.”
Earlier Turkic
Turkic
balkan
“A mountain, hill, or rugged, forested highland.”