koine
[koi-ney, koi-ney]
- (usually initial capital letter) an amalgam of Greek dialects, chiefly Attic and Ionic, that replaced the Classical Greek dialects in the Hellenistic period and flourished under the Roman Empire.
- a lingua franca.
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Origin of koine
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for koine
Historical Examples of koine
But as we were then leaving Koine, and were not yet melted with the grief of absence, I had the courage to resist their demand.
Roman Holidays and OthersW. D. Howells
koine
- a common language among speakers of different languages; lingua franca
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Word Origin for koine
from Greek koinē dialektos common language
Koine
- the Koine (sometimes not capital) the Ancient Greek dialect that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely used throughout the E Mediterranean area in Roman times
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for koine
common literary dialect of Greek in Roman and early medieval period, 1903, from feminine singular of Greek koinos "common, ordinary" (see coeno-). Used earlier as a Greek word in English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper