koine

[ koi-ney, koi-ney ]

noun
  1. (usually initial capital letter) an amalgam of Greek dialects, chiefly Attic and Ionic, that replaced the Classical Greek dialects in the Hellenistic period and flourished under the Roman Empire.

  2. a lingua franca.

Origin of koine

1
1910–15; <Greek koinḗ (diálektos) common (dialect); see ceno-2

Words Nearby koine

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How to use koine in a sentence

  • He calls this degree stata forma,—a rational, mediocre sort of beauty, which is not liable to be either koine or poine.

    My Novel, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • The author, as already shown, writes in the smooth and easy koine of a gifted and cultivated Jew of Palestine.

  • But as we were then leaving koine, and were not yet melted with the grief of absence, I had the courage to resist their demand.

British Dictionary definitions for koine (1 of 2)

koine

/ (ˈkɔɪniː) /


noun
  1. a common language among speakers of different languages; lingua franca

Origin of koine

1
from Greek koinē dialektos common language

British Dictionary definitions for Koine (2 of 2)

Koine

/ (ˈkɔɪniː) /


noun
  1. the Koine (sometimes not capital) the Ancient Greek dialect that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely used throughout the E Mediterranean area in Roman times

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