Greek

[ greek ]

/ grik /

adjective

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

pertaining to the Greek Orthodox Church.

noting or pertaining to the alphabetical 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.

noun

a native or inhabitant of Greece.

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. Abbreviation: Gk, Gk.

Informal. anything unintelligible, as speech, writing, etc.: This contract is all Greek to me.

a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Hellenic(def 3).

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

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

Origin of Greek

before 900; Middle English; Old English Grēcas (plural) < Latin Graecī the Greeks (nominative plural of Graecus) < Greek Graikoí, plural of Graikós Greek

Related forms

Greek·dom, nounGreek·ish, adjectivean·ti-Greek, adjective, nounhalf-Greek, adjective

non-Greek, adjective, nounpre-Greek, adjective, nounpro-Greek, adjective, nounpseu·do-Greek, adjective, nounqua·si-Greek, adjective

Usage note

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for greek

In Greek mythology, the species became associated with numerous gods.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity|William O’Connor|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Greek embassy confirmed the death, which has barely registered by the international press.
Riding Thailand’s WWII Death Railway|Liza Foreman|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That distant whirring sound you hear is a long-dead Greek physician spinning in his grave.
Why So Many Surgeons Are Psychos|Russell Saunders|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The root of the word irony is in the Greek eironeia, “liar.”
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham|P. J. O’Rourke|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But if he heard this combination of Greek and Cuban music, he would be forced to reconsider.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These were the aims Greek logic set itself, and successfully achieved.
Studies in the History and Method of Science|Various
In conservative Cyprus there was not that break with the past which occurred in other portions of the Greek world.
The Library Magazine of Select Foreign Literature|Various
From there leads a zone 20 sea miles wide west of 22 degrees 30 minutes eastern longitude into Greek territorial waters.
Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights|Kelly Miller
The Greek trochaic tetrameter, similarly, contains eight trochees, the English 'trochaic tetrameter' but four.
The Principles of English Versification|Paull Franklin Baum
The French, prior to the Revolution, were passionately fond of the drama, which was then entirely founded on the Greek model.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 370, August 1846|Various

British Dictionary definitions for greek

Greek

/ (ɡriːk) /

noun

the official language of Greece, constituting the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languagesSee Ancient Greek, Late Greek, Medieval Greek, Modern Greek

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

a member of the Greek Orthodox Church

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

Greek meets Greek equals meet

adjective

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

of, relating to, or designating the Greek Orthodox Church

Derived FormsGreekness, noun

Word Origin for Greek

from Old English Grēcas (plural), or Latin Graecus, from Greek Graikos

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

Word Origin and History for greek (1 of 2)

Greek

Old English Grecas, Crecas (plural), early Germanic borrowing from Latin Graeci "the Hellenes," from Greek Grakoi. Aristotle, who was the first to use Graikhos as equivalent to Hellenes ("Meteorologica" I.xiv), wrote that it was the name originally used by Illyrians for the Dorians in Epirus, from Graii, native name of the people of Epirus.

But a modern theory (put forth by German classical historian Georg Busolt, 1850-1920), derives it from Graikhos "inhabitant of Graia" (literally "gray"), a town on the coast of Boeotia, which was the name given by the Romans to all Greeks, originally to the Greek colonists from Graia who helped found Cumae (9c. B.C.E.), the important city in southern Italy where the Latins first encountered Greeks. Under this theory, it was reborrowed in this general sense by the Greeks.

The Germanic languages originally borrowed the word with an initial -k- sound (cf. Old High German Chrech, Gothic Kreks), which probably was their initial sound closest to the Latin -g- at the time; the word was later refashioned.

It was subtle of God to learn Greek when he wished to become an author -- and not to learn it better. [Nietzsche, "Beyond Good and Evil," 1886]

Meaning "the Greek language" is from late 14c.; meaning "unintelligible speech, gibberish" is from c.1600. Meaning "Greek letter fraternity member" is student slang, 1900.

Word Origin and History for greek (1 of 2)

Greek

adj.

late 14c., from Greek (n.). Earlier Gregeis (c.1300), from Old French Gregois; also Greekish (Old English Grecisc). In venery, "anal," by 1970. Greek gift is from "Æneid," II.49: "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes."

Greek

adjective

noun

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noun

adjective

Word Origin for Greek

Word Origin and History for greek (1 of 2)

Greek

Word Origin and History for greek (1 of 2)

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adjective

British Dictionary definitions for greek