demotic

[ dih-mot-ik ]
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adjective
  1. of or relating to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular: a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms.

  2. of or relating to the common people; popular.

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

noun
  1. demotic script.

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

Origin of demotic

1
1815–25; <Greek dēmotikós popular, plebeian, equivalent to dēmót(ēs) a plebeian (derivative of dêmos;see demo-) + -ikos-ic

Words Nearby demotic

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How to use demotic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for demotic (1 of 2)

demotic

/ (dɪˈmɒtɪk) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to the common people; popular

  2. of or relating to a simplified form of hieroglyphics used in ancient Egypt by the ordinary literate class outside the priesthood: Compare hieratic

noun
  1. the demotic script of ancient Egypt

Origin of demotic

1
C19: from Greek dēmotikos of the people, from dēmotēs a man of the people, commoner; see demos

Derived forms of demotic

  • demotist, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Demotic (2 of 2)

Demotic

/ (dɪˈmɒtɪk) /


noun
  1. the spoken form of Modern Greek, now increasingly used in literature: Compare Katharevusa

adjective
  1. denoting or relating to this

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