Greek

American  

[greek] / grik /

adjective

1. of or relating to Greece, the Greeks, or their language.

2. pertaining to the Greek Orthodox Church.

3. noting or pertaining to the alphabetic script derived from a Semitic form of writing, employing some letters that originally represented consonants for use as vowel sounds, which was used from about the beginning of the first millennium b.c. for the writing of Greek, and from which the Latin, Cyrillic, and other alphabets were derived.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Greece.

2. the language of the ancient Greeks and any of the languages that have developed from it, as Hellenistic Greek, Biblical Greek, the Koine, and Modern Greek. Gk, Gk.

3. Informal. anything unintelligible, as speech, writing, etc..

   This contract is all Greek to me.

4. a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

5. Hellenic.

6. a person who belongs to a Greek-letter fraternity or sorority.

7. Archaic: Usually Offensive. a cheater, especially one who cheats at cards.

Greek British  

/ ɡriːk /

noun

1. the official language of Greece, constituting the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages See Ancient Greek Late Greek Medieval Greek Modern Greek

2. a native or inhabitant of Greece or a descendant of such a native

3. a member of the Greek Orthodox Church

4. informal anything incomprehensible (esp in the phrase it's ( all ) Greek to me )

5. equals meet

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adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or characteristic of Greece, the Greeks, or the Greek language; Hellenic

2. of, relating to, or designating the Greek Orthodox Church

Sensitive Note

The noun Greek in its archaic meaning of “cheater” is usually perceived as insulting to or by Greeks.

Other Word Forms

• Greekdom
  noun
• Greekish
  adjective
• Greekness
  noun
• anti-Greek
  adjective
• half-Greek
  adjective
• non-Greek
  adjective
• pre-Greek
  adjective
• pro-Greek
  adjective
• pseudo-Greek
  adjective
• quasi-Greek
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Greek

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English Grēcas (plural) from Latin Graecī “the Greeks” (nominative plural of Graecus ) from Greek Graikoí, plural of Graikós Greek

Example Sentences

Her September 2024 shows at L.A.’s Greek Theater sold out so quickly that the singer-songwriter had to add two additional dates to meet demand.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Yet in the wake of those episodes, the reigning Greek powers of the day, Athens and Sparta, did more or less as the Persians had done.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

Musk said director Nolan has "grossly insulted the Greek people", and replied "true" to a meme of a man supposedly dancing on Homer's grave.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

He was named after the ruling Titan in Greek mythology who ate all his children.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

A fellow Symiote, Oikonomou took Kontos and Stadiatis, along with the bronze arm that had been salvaged, to meet the Greek Minister of Education, Spyridon Stais.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler