# Youngest Group Member



## ><FISH'>

I am curious about a word which means something like "youngest member of the group" which is apparently used casually to refer to such a person in a group. We don't have this in English. I do not remember the pronunciation of the word, sorry. Can anyone elaborate on the exact meaning of this word, the context it can be used in, and the social/cultural implications of it? Why and when is it used?


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## Fred_C

Perhaps βενιαμίν ?
This word stems from the name of the youngest of Jacob's twelve sons : Benjamin.


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## ><FISH'>

Thanks for the reply.

I should further clarify that I do not speak a word of Greek nor can I read it... I just happen to spend a disproportionate amount of time with Greek people. I learned recently that I am referred to as "the little guy/youngest person in group" (rough translation) when they speak about me in Greek, so I am curious about how this word is used, in particular if it has negative connotations.


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## zoetsa

Never heard Bενιαμίν (Benjamin), just seen it written textes but not many times. But what I have very often heard: το μωρό μας -our baby.


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## shawnee

My guess is they say, 'Here comes the πιτσιρικά'. From πιτσιρίκος - youngster, kid, < Ital. loan word, I think southern Ital. but I'm not sure of the spelling.


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## zoetsa

πιτσιρίκος is an often used word but not in this meaning, we don't even say πιο πιτσιρίκος too much.


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## shawnee

zoetsa said:


> πιτσιρίκος is an often used word but not in this meaning, we don't even say πιο πιτσιρίκος too much.



I disagree. 
A young guy joins a group of older guys. They greet him with, 'Να και ο πιτσιρικάς'. If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times. And now I'm the one saying it.


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## ><FISH'>

I really assumed it was a commonly known word... my friends are not young and they are from the three major cities, and Cyprus. It may have begun with an "A" but I'm not sure.


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## Perseas

"Ο νέος" (---> "the new one") is used for a person new in a group, not necessarily young of age, which comes in contrast to "ο παλιός" (---> "the senior member of a group").


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## zoetsa

Fish! So you are looking for a certain word???

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shawnee said:


> 'Να και ο πιτσιρικάς'.


Young is just not the same as the youngest.


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## ><FISH'>

Yes. Sorry, I re-read my original post and this was not made clear. To clarify: It is a specific word which is used by Greeks in casual conversation when referring to the youngest member of the group. When this word was translated to me, the translator approximated it to something like "little guy", although he specified that no direct English translation existed.


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## shawnee

I must clarify that my example is said with a degree of irony. You need to picture a group of 70 to 80 year olds greeting someone over 50; to them he is a 'youngster'. So in this context zoetsa, πιτσιρίκος would be the youngest by implication. The only question that remains is, if it is going to be possible for Fish to provide a more direct reference to the mystery word.


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## zoetsa

Its not enough to be true if the word just doesnt mean it not even implicite.


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## ireney

I'm not sure what's the problem. Πιτσιρίκος means the young boy (πιτσιρίκα for the girl) and can be and is used to denote the younger member in a company, especially if there's a discernible age difference between that person and all the rest. While it's about 4 years since I left Greece I don't think usage of anything but youth slang has changed all that much.


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## zoetsa

ireney said:


> denote the younger member



Exactly: younger and not youngest.


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