Macedonian

How to spell macedonian

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce macedonian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does macedonian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Macedonia, its people, language, or culture.
2. nounA person from Macedonia.
3. nounThe South Slavic language spoken in North Macedonia.

Macedonian in a sentence

• adjective

  The museum displayed a collection of ancient macedonian coins and armour.

• noun

  The tour guide was a macedonian who had lived in Skopje for decades.

• noun

  He studied macedonian for a year before moving to the region.

• adjective

  She ordered a traditional macedonian dish at the restaurant downtown.

• noun

  Many a macedonian emigrated abroad in search of work during the recession.

• noun

  The contract was translated into macedonian and Albanian.

Where does macedonian come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the ancient kingdom of Macedonia in the northern Greek world, whose name in Greek was Makedonia, from the people called the Makedones. That tribal name is usually linked to the Greek adjective makednos, meaning 'tall' or 'slender', so the Macedonians may originally have been described as 'the highlanders' or 'the tall ones', a fitting label for people of the mountainous north. The region gained lasting fame through Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, whose conquests carried the name across the ancient world. English took the form 'Macedonian' through Latin Macedonius, itself borrowed from the Greek, and the modern -ian ending simply marks something or someone as belonging to that place. Today it can describe the modern country of North Macedonia, the Slavic language spoken there, the historical Greek region, or a person from any of these, and the single c, single d, and the -onian ending are the spots writers most often hesitate over.

How the word is built

• Macedon (from Greek Makedon, the ancient region and people)
• -ian (adjective and noun suffix meaning 'belonging to' or 'native of')