enosis

American  

[ih-noh-sis, ee-noh-, e-naw-sees] / ɪˈnoʊ sɪs, iˈnoʊ-, ˈɛ nɔ sis /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. a movement for securing the political union of Greece and Cyprus.

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enosis British  

/ ˈɛnəʊsɪs /

noun

1. the union of Greece and Cyprus: the aim of a group of Greek Cypriots

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Other Word Forms

• enosist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of enosis

1935–40; < Modern Greek énōsis, Greek hénōsis union, equivalent to henō-, variant stem of henoûn to unify (derivative of hén, neuter of heîs one) + -sis -sis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enosis

Makarios at once plunged into the enosis movement, calling for union of Cyprus with Greece, and staged an island-wide plebiscite in which Greek Cypriots voted 97% for enosis.

From Time Magazine Archive

The desire for enosis, or union with Greece, had been kindled, only to be brutally frustrated.

From Time Magazine Archive

This threw Turkish Cypriots into a panic, since they well knew that the announced goal of Makarios and the Greek Cypriots is enosis, that is, eventual union with Greece.

From Time Magazine Archive

From the moment of his arrival, the bristling little fighter talked not only enosis but peace and fair play for the Turks, which, as an undisputed Greek-Cypriot hero, he felt strong enough to do.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Greeks outnumber the Turks 4 to 1, and long before the island won its independence from Britain in 1960, many Greek Cypriots wanted enosis, or union with Greece.

From Time Magazine Archive