Scandaroon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historic English name for the Mediterranean port city now called Iskenderun in southern Turkey
2. The old European name given to the Turkish seaport of Iskenderun on the Gulf of Iskenderun
3. An archaic English designation for the coastal Turkish city known today as Iskenderun

Etymology: Scandaroon is a doublet of Alexandretta, the port in southern Turkey now called Iskenderun. The name goes back to Alexander the Great, whose name was adapted into Ottoman Turkish as "İskenderūn" and then reshaped by English speakers, who added the "-oon" ending, much as they had with "Stamboul" for Istanbul. The word has two unrelated senses that share this sound. One is a breed of pigeon, possibly named because birds were used to carry messages from the English trading factory at Iskenderun to Aleppo whenever new ships arrived, though this explanation is only supposed rather than proven. The other sense is a swindler, and here the link to the place is probably coincidental. The word was likely shaped by the influence of "scandal" and its relatives, with the "-oon" ending added as well. The two senses therefore look alike but come from different directions: one from a city's name, the other from an English word for disgrace.