DEFTERorTEFTERI BETA
ΕΛTREN
ENTRY 226 · TRADE AND MONEY · ROUND TRIPΕΞΟΦΛΗΘΗ · ÖDENDİ
IN GREEK

τεφτέρι

tefteri

account notebook; ledger (now often figurative)

IN TURKISH

defter

defter

notebook; register; ledger

τεφτέριdefter

WEAR THE WORD

τεφτέρι in blue ink and defter in red, on a T shirt, a tote or a mug.

I WANT THIS ON A T SHIRTSHARE THIS WORD

HOW THE WORD TRAVELLED

  1. ANCIENT GREEK
    διφθέρα
    a prepared hide used for writing
  2. ARAMAIC, SYRIAC
    diphterā
    a codex, a register
  3. MIDDLE PERSIAN
    daftar
    a register
  4. ARABIC
    daftar
    a register, a codex
  5. TURKISH
    defter
    notebook, ledger
  6. MODERN GREEK
    τεφτέρι
    the shop ledger, back home

THE RECORD

LENT BY, BORROWED BY
Round trip
STARTED IN
Ancient Greek (διφθέρα via Aramaic, Middle Persian, Arabic and Turkish)
CATEGORY
Trade and money
HOW THE MEANING DRIFTED
Greek τεφτέρι is mostly old fashioned or idiomatic; Turkish defter is a common everyday notebook.
NOTES
Greek form reborrowed through Turkish; Triantafyllidis marks the current Greek word as dated.

COMMENTS

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SOURCES

  1. Triantafyllidis, Lexiko tis Koinis Neoellinikis, entry τεφτέρι www.greek-language.gr
  2. Nişanyan Sözlük (checked online)

Etymologies are checked against the dictionaries and studies listed. An entry is stamped settled only when both the Greek and the Turkish side have been checked. Research for this ledger was compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by the editors.

HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY

Gold, K. (ed.) (2026) ‘τεφτέρι / defter’, entry 226, Defter ή Tefteri: a ledger of shared Greek and Turkish words. https://defteritefteri.com/en/w/226-tefteri/. Accessed [day month year].