Kourenta
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Kourenta | |
|---|---|
  Kourenta | |
| Coordinates: 39°39′8″N 20°36′42″E / 39.65222°N 20.61167°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Epirus |
| Regional unit | Ioannina |
| Municipality | Zitsa |
| Municipal unit | Molossoi |
| Elevation | 508 m (1,667 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 140 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Kourenta (Greek: Κούρεντα) is a settlement in Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. The community consists of the villages Kourenta and Petsali.
The toponym is derived from the surname Kourentas and linguist Kostas Oikonomou states it probably stems from the Albanian noun kurent -i meaning 'stream, torrent', plural kurente.[2] The Albanian word in a metaphorical context can refer to a person rushing, although it can correspond to the soil formation of the region, as the village is located on the left side of a pit at the bottom where a rapid of the Korakolakkos river, a tributary of Kalamas flows in particular during winter.[2]
The name of the village Kourenta is also used for the wider region called Kourentachoria (villages of Kourenta).[2] Scholar Ioannis Lambridis wrote Albanians had settled in Kourenta.[2] Historian Michalis Kokolakis stated the Kourenta area formed an Albanian speech island and some of the Albanian speaking population converted to Islam.[3] In the late 17th century Albanian Muslim converts were trying to convert the villages of Kourenta, while a part of the population migrated to Zagori.[4] Later, the local population expelled the Albanian Muslim converts and the remaining Albanian speakers due to their interaction with nearby Greek speakers became hellenised, including a language shift to Greek.[3]