c. 1300, Macedone, from Latin Macedonius "Macedonian," from Greek Makedones "the Macedonians," literally "highlanders" or "the tall ones," related to makednos "long, tall," makros "long, large" (see macro-). French Macédoine "mixed cut fruit or vegetables" is early 19c., said to be a reference to the diversity of people in Alexander's empire.
Republic in southeastern Europe on the west Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Yugoslavia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. Its capital and largest city is Skopje.
Note: Macedonia is part of a mountainous region of the Balkan Peninsula, also called Macedonia, that was once ruled by the Ottoman Empire and divided in 1912 among Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia (later Yugoslavia).
Note: Greece has objected to the republic's adoption of the name Macedonia, which is also the name of a Greek province and which to the Greeks has been historically associated with Alexander the Great and ancient Greece.
Note: The country has been marked by conflict between minority ethnic Albanians and majority Slavs.
in New Testament times, was a Roman province lying north of Greece. It was governed by a propraetor with the title of proconsul. Paul was summoned by the vision of the "man of Macedonia" to preach the gospel there (Acts 16:9). Frequent allusion is made to this event (18:5; 19:21; Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 1:16; 11:9; Phil. 4:15). The history of Paul's first journey through Macedonia is given in detail in Acts 16:10-17:15. At the close of this journey he returned from Corinth to Syria. He again passed through this country (20:1-6), although the details of the route are not given. After many years he probably visited it for a third time (Phil. 2:24; 1 Tim. 1:3). The first convert made by Paul in Europe was (Acts 16:13-15) Lydia (q.v.), a "seller of purple," residing in Philippi, the chief city of the eastern division of Macedonia.