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
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
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
n.
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