From Greferendum to Grexit

First-time students of the Greek debt crisis might fear they have stumbled on an alien language when they see some of the words European leaders use. Here is a selection.

GREXIT: The withdrawal of Greece from the euro, the single currency.

■ A portmanteau word made by combining the words ‘Greece’ and ‘exit’. The term was reputedly first used in a paper by Citigroup economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari in February 2012.

GREXODUS: (‘Greece’ plus ‘exodus’) has been suggested because

■ the latter word is of Greek origin. Later spawned the word Brexit to refer to a potential British exit from the European Union in a referendum planned by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2017.

GREXIDENT (sometimes written GRACCIDENT): A chain reaction

■ leading to Greece leaving the euro in a ‘chaotic, uncontrollable’ fashion because of default or a bank run, despite efforts to keep it in. EU President Donald Tusk used the term on June 23 in a press conference, making it official after wide use on social media and in financial commentaries.

GREFERENDUM: A plebiscite called by Greece’s leftist Prime Minister

■ Alexis Tsipras for July 5 to decide on bailout reform terms offered by EU-IMF creditors, combines the words “Greece” and “referendum”.

JUNCKER FOOTBALL METAPHORS: European Commission chief

■ is remarkably keen on football metaphors, saying on one occasion that the Greek bailout talks were a ‘game without extra time’ and then on Monday mixing football with philosophy when he said he ‘would not want to see Plato play in the second division’.