demotic

[ dih-mot-ik ]

/ dɪˈmɒt ɪk /

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adjective

of or relating to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular: a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms.

of or relating to the common people; popular.

of, relating to, or noting the simplified form of hieratic writing used in ancient Egypt between 700 b.c. and a.d. 500.

noun

demotic script.

(initial capital letter)Also called Romaic. the Modern Greek vernacular (distinguished from Katharevusa).

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Origin of demotic

1815–25; <Greek dēmotikós popular, plebeian, equivalent to dēmót(ēs) a plebeian (derivative of dêmos;see demo-) + -ikos-ic

Words nearby demotic

demos, demoscene, Demosthenes, demote, demothball, demotic, demotion, demount, Dempsey, dempster, demulcent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use demotic in a sentence

Anything but demotic is Amar Bhide's A Call For Judgment, subtitled "Sensible Finance For A Dynamic Economy."
The Daily Beast's Favorite Books of 2010|The Daily Beast|December 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The demotic self-deprecation barely masks a vast ambition, which is a kind of deception in itself, or an artifice.
Palin Paranoia Decoded|Tunku Varadarajan|November 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
An impatient lower court forced her to change it to the demotic “Gregorio,” noting that Venerdi was “a ridiculous name.”
The Week in Rage|Adam Hanft|October 24, 2008|DAILY BEAST
In the more cursive or Hieratic writing the horned serpent appears as ; in the later Demotic as and .
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, November 1879|Various

They bore numerous inscriptions in hieroglyphics and the demotic character, wherefrom the clue was obtained as to their identity.
The Little Gleaner, Vol. X.|Various
Of these demotic fragments a large quantity had been sent to the British Museum.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1|Various
On another very marvellous narrative on a papyrus in the demotic character, see Brugsch, loc.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. I (of VI)|Max Duncker
To the Greek characters were added six taken from the Demotic in order to express sounds peculiar to the Egyptian language.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt|Lewis Spence

British Dictionary definitions for demotic (1 of 2)

demotic

/ (dɪˈmɒtɪk) /

adjective

of or relating to the common people; popular

of or relating to a simplified form of hieroglyphics used in ancient Egypt by the ordinary literate class outside the priesthoodCompare hieratic

noun

the demotic script of ancient Egypt

Derived forms of demotic

demotist, noun

Word Origin for demotic

C19: from Greek dēmotikos of the people, from dēmotēs a man of the people, commoner; see demos

British Dictionary definitions for demotic (2 of 2)

Demotic

/ (dɪˈmɒtɪk) /

noun

the spoken form of Modern Greek, now increasingly used in literatureCompare Katharevusa

adjective

denoting or relating to this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

demotic

Origin of demotic

Words nearby demotic

Words related to demotic

How to use demotic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demotic (1 of 2)

Derived forms of demotic

Word Origin for demotic

British Dictionary definitions for demotic (2 of 2)