demotic
adjective
of or relating to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular.
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demotic
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Demotic
Demoticnounthe spoken form of Modern Greek, now increasingly used in literature Compare Katharevusa
demotic
American
[dih-mot-ik]
/ dɪˈmɒt ɪk /
adjective
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of or relating to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular.
a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms.
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of or relating to the common people; popular.
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of, relating to, or noting the simplified form of hieratic writing used in ancient Egypt between 700 b.c. and a.d. 500.
noun
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demotic script.
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Also called Romaic. (initial capital letter) the Modern Greek vernacular (distinguished from Katharevusa).
demotic
1
British
/ dɪˈmɒtɪk /
adjective
-
of or relating to the common people; popular
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of or relating to a simplified form of hieroglyphics used in ancient Egypt by the ordinary literate class outside the priesthood Compare hieratic
noun
Demotic
2
British
/ dɪˈmɒtɪk /
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of demotic
1815–25; < Greek dēmotikós popular, plebeian, equivalent to dēmót ( ēs ) a plebeian (derivative of dêmos; see demo-) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A demotic saying or expression is casual, colloquial, and used by the masses. Some forms of the Greek and Egyptian languages are also called demotic, which will be relevant to you when you get your PhD in Classics. Demotic comes from the Greek word demotikos, meaning "of or for the common people" or "in common use." Members of the aristocracy don’t typically use demotic idioms, but it is often the elite who will point out that something is demotic. Of course, in a classless society, everything ought to be demotic, therefore making it obsolete to designate sayings as demotic. So far, however, demotic is still a relevant term.
Vocabulary lists containing demotic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mr. Kidd is obsessed in particular with Oxbridge dons, as the academics at these two British universities are known in demotic parlance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Beside the "beautifully and accurately carved" sphinx, archaeologists also found a Roman-era stone slab with demotic and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2023
He would waffle in demotic English and then answer a charge with a quotation from Seneca.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
“The language in these pages remains visceral, demotic, open to all comers and capable of neat aural effects,” Stephanie Burt writes in her review.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
One of the most characteristic distinctions of later demotic is the minuteness of the writing.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1 "Edwardes" to "Ehrenbreitstein" by Various
Another inscription on the vessel is written in Demotic script, a simplified form of ancient Egyptian writing.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 18, 2025
The use of Egyptian hieroglyphs, for example, continued for centuries until it was ultimately replaced by Meroitic, an alpha-syllabic script derived from the Egyptian Demotic script.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Bearing inscriptions of the same text in Hieroglyphs, Demotic and Ancient Greek, it was used by Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion to decipher Hieroglyphs from 1822, opening up understanding of ancient Egyptian language and culture.
From Reuters ● Oct. 5, 2022
And the three bands of text — classical Greek, hieroglyphs and an Egyptian shorthand called Demotic — were intended to proclaim the monarch’s achievements in multiple tongues to the peoples of the empire.
From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2021
My own education has been neglected in the matter of Demotic, and I know the tale only from the literal translation which accompanies the text in Dr. Griffith's Stories of the High Priests of Memphis.
From The Story of Nefrekepta from a demotic papyrus by Gilbert Murray
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
