Dikoryfo

Dikoryfo (, before 1927: Ζωνδήλα, Zondila, between 1927–1940: Δίκορφο, Dikorfo) is a small village in the region of Epirus in Greece. The village is located to the north western side of Mount Mitsikeli.

Name

Tzontila, the local form of the placename is derived from the Albanian word çotill/ë -a meaning 'the stamp, the wood with which butter is beaten'. It stems from the Albanian toçill/ë, -a 'potter's wheel' and through transposition is from a Slavic word rendered in Bulgarian as točilo and in Serbian točilj meaning 'anvil'.

The placename was formed as tšotila, earlier çottila, where the sound tš became dž through grammatical conjugation within the toponym, with the -n of the article used in its prepositional pronunciation: zn tšotila, later zn džudi'la, while the assimilation of the t become d: dž-t into dž-d and narrowing of the unstressed o to u. Linguist Kostas Oikonomou states the toponym's rendition in Albanian is also strengthened through the formation of the demonym dždil'at -s, dždil'at -sa, as it has the Albanian suffix -at(i) which is used in family and national names.

History

A part of the population from the village of Tzontila (modern Zoodochos) in the Kourenta region were forced to abandon it, resettled in the Zagori region and established the village of Tzontila. The inhabitants of Tzontila in Zagori refer to Tzontila in Kourenta as Paliotz'dila (Old Tzontila).

Demographics

The village is inhabited by Greeks.

References