This week’s theme
Words coined after mountains and hills

This week’s words
Olympian
balkanize
Areopagus
Everest
Pelion

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(BAWL-kuh-nyz)

MEANING:

verb tr.: To divide a region, group, etc., into small, often hostile, entities.

ETYMOLOGY:

From allusion to the breakup of the Balkan Peninsula following the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Peninsula is named after Balkan Mountains, which are named after a Turkish word for mountains: balkan. Earliest documented use: 1917.

USAGE:

“The governor balkanized the Kano Emirate by creating four other emirates.”
Emir Sanusi and Goje -- What Happened to Their Probes?; This Day (Lagos, Nigeria); Jun 14, 2019.

See more usage examples of balkanize in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: