The foundational aid for the compilation of this dictionary was the monumental and unsurpassed to this day HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF THE PONTIC DIALECT by the great linguist Anthimos Papadopoulos.

I must confess that this dictionary was not the work of a single individual and it was by no means an easy task. I did not find collaborators despite my attempts. For this reason, I was compelled to do it on my own. I encountered many difficulties, often seemingly insurmountable. Nevertheless, I persisted. I dedicated many years and always had the anxiety of whether I would be able to complete this work, whether it would ever see the light of day.

Today the work is complete. I believe it will be a good and necessary aid for those who are involved and those who will be involved with the Pontic dialect, as this dialect constitutes a valuable linguistic treasure. It should be noted that many words have been added to this dictionary that are not found in Anthimos Papadopoulos's dictionary.

I feel the obligation and wish to thank Kostas Theodoridis for the editing of the dictionary, a philology professor, and the prolific author - folklorist Savvas P. Papadopoulos. My endless gratitude goes to Tassos Kyriakidis, our man, who took on the publication of the dictionary with great joy and willingness. Many thanks also to the couple Kostas Kordalis who, with Job-like patience, completed this difficult task.

DIMIΤRIOS S. NIKOPOULITIS [Excerpt from the foreword]