demotic
Americanadjective
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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 (Katharevusa ).
adjective
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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
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012adjective
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- demotist noun
Etymology
Origin of demotic
1815–25; < Greek dēmotikós popular, plebeian, equivalent to dēmót ( ēs ) a plebeian (derivative of dêmos; demo- ) + -ikos -ic
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.
Today’s readers, used to the twittering demotic of our age, may need to adjust to this titanic prose-poem’s leisurely, mandarin style.
From Washington Post
Gallagher’s “DeLuxe” is more refined, but it also registers loss — the loss of Black identity, the marginalization of Black culture — even as it dances around the demotic idiom of old-style magazines.
From Washington Post
We could add the mirroring of the current crude demotic political discourse.
From The Guardian
Her prose could be lush, or raw and demotic, or carefree and eccentric, often on a single page.
From New York Times
This collection of linked stories, set on an unnamed Aegean island and featuring a cast of wry, rough-talking Greeks reeling from the country’s economic devastation, showcases Ikonomou’s wit, compassion and infallible ear for the demotic.
From New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
