Malakia

''Malakas'' ( ) is a commonly used profane Greek slang word, with a variety of different meanings, but literally meaning "man who masturbates". While it is typically used as an insult, with its literal equivalent in Commonwealth English being "wanker” and “jerk off” in American English, the meaning varies depending on the tone and context used. It can be an exclamation of pleasure, an expression of dark horror, a cry of anger, a declaration of affection, and other different things. Common alternative meanings include "asshole", "motherfucker" "jerk" or "idiot", and the contrasting "dude", or "mate", depending on the context. It has been described as "the most used Greek slang word".

Overview

''Malakas'' derives from the Greek word '' malakos'' (), which means "soft" or "spoilt, well-used to luxuries of life". It is one of the most frequent words picked up by tourists (often in its vocative case form, i.e. ''malaka'' ) and travelers to Greece and is not unusual among the younger Greek diaspora, even when the level of Greek is low. While "malakas" is a strictly masculine noun, a female form of the word exists, ''malako'' (), but is a recent coinage and not as widely used, whereas ''malakismeni'' () seems to be rather more vintage, but also more common, though this form is only used as a slur.Cf. th
lemma "μαλάκω"
an
references for "μαλακισμένη"
on slang.gr. Retrieved 2016-01-17. In everyday speech, the word ''malakas'' is often used as a synonym of idiot. While the term is inappropriate and is traditionally used as a slur, it is acceptable and very commonly used among close friends, especially males, where it takes on a meaning similar to "dude" or "mate". ''Malakas'' is very rarely used in its literal meaning (man who masturbates).

''Malakia''

''Malakia'', literally meaning masturbation, is often also used in a similar sense as ''malakas'' to refer to nonsense, something worthless or of poor quality, or a mistake. It can also be used literally. The use of ''malakia'' to mean "masturbation" traces back to medieval Greek. It is used in this sense in the ''Life of Saint Andrew the Fool'' and in the ''Life of Saint Niphon'', both of which date to the tenth century.

In ancient Greek, ''Malakia'' (, "softness", "weakliness") meant moral weakness or "effeminacy". The contrary characteristic was ''karteria'' (, "patient endurance", "perseverance").

The verb "''malakizome"'' (μαλακίζομαι) also exists. Even though its literal meaning is "I masturbate" it is mostly used to define that someone is wasting his time or failing to achieve something.

See also

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Notes

References

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*{{citation
, last=Tegopoulos
, first=Fytrakis
, year=1997
, title=Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό ("Mízon ellinikó lexikó")
, publisher=Ekdoseis Armonia A.E.
, isbn=960-7598-04-0

Profanity
Greek slang
Modern Greek words and phrases
Masturbation