Greek

/grik/

/grik/

Other forms: Greeks; Greekly

Anything that has to do with the country of Greece can be described as Greek. This includes the Greek language, alphabet, and people, as well as Greek food like feta cheese.

We have the Greek language to thank for many English words, and Greek culture to thank for delicacies like spanakopita and baklava. People who come from Greece describe themselves as Greek, and stories of ancient Greek gods are still told thousands of years later. If you find something incomprehensible, you might say, "It's Greek to me," from a Latin phrase commonly used by medieval scribes copying illegible transcripts: Graecum est; non legitur, "It's Greek, and impossible to read."

Definitions of Greek

1. adjective

   of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language
   “Greek mythology”

   synonyms: Grecian, Hellenic
2. noun

   a native or inhabitant of Greece
   synonyms: Hellene

   types:

   Achaean, Achaian

   a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks

   Aeolian, Eolian

   a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks

   Dorian

   a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks

   Ionian

   a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks

   Athenian

   a resident of Athens

   Corinthian

   a resident of Corinth

   Laconian

   a resident of Laconia

   Lesbian

   a resident of Lesbos

   Spartan

   a resident of Sparta

   Arcadian

   an inhabitant of Arcadia

   Theban

   a Greek inhabitant of ancient Thebes

   Argive

   a native or inhabitant of the city of Argos

   Ephesian

   a resident of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus

   Mycenaen

   a native or inhabitant of ancient Mycenae

   Thessalian

   a native or inhabitant of Thessaly

   Thessalonian

   a native or inhabitant of Thessalonica

   type of:

   European

   a native or inhabitant of Europe
3. noun

   the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
   synonyms: Hellenic, Hellenic language

   types:

   Modern Greek, New Greek

   the Greek language as spoken and written today

   Late Greek

   the Greek language in the 3rd to 8th centuries

   Byzantine Greek, Medieval Greek, Middle Greek

   the Greek language from about 600 to 1200 AD

   Koine

   a Greek dialect that flourished under the Roman Empire

   Ancient Greek

   the Greek language prior to the Roman Empire

   Demotic, Romaic

   the modern Greek vernacular

   Katharevusa

   literary style of Modern Greek containing features borrowed from Koine

   Attic, Classical Greek, Ionic, Ionic dialect

   the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken and written in Attica and Athens and Ionia

   Aeolic, Aeolic dialect, Eolic

   the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken in Thessaly and Boeotia and Aeolis

   Arcadic, Arcadic dialect

   the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken by Arcadians

   Doric, Doric dialect

   the dialect of Ancient Greek spoken in Doris

   type of:

   Indo-European, Indo-European language, Indo-Hittite

   the family of languages that by 1000 BC were spoken throughout Europe and in parts of southwestern and southern Asia