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demotic

 - 3 dictionary results

de⋅mot⋅ic

  [di-mot-ik]
Use demotic in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular: a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms.
2. of or pertaining to the common people; popular.
3. of, pertaining to, or noting the simplified form of hieratic writing used in ancient Egypt between 700 b.c. and a.d. 500.
–noun
4. demotic script.
5. (initial capital letter) Also called Romaic. the Modern Greek vernacular (distinguished from Katharevusa ).
Origin:
1815–25; < Gk dēmotikós popular, plebeian, equiv. to dēmót(ēs) a plebeian (deriv. of dêmos; see demo- ) + -ikos -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To demotic
de·mot·ic   (dĭ-mŏt'ĭk)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to the common people; popular: demotic speech; demotic entertainments.

  2. Of, relating to, or written in the simplified form of ancient Egyptian hieratic writing.

  3. Demotic Of or relating to a form of modern Greek based on colloquial use.

n.  Demotic Greek.

[Greek dēmotikos, from dēmotēs, a commoner, from dēmos, people; see dā- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

demotic 
1822, from Gk. demotikos "of or for the common people," from demos "common people," originally "district," from PIE *da-mo- "division," from base *da- "to divide" (see tide). In contrast to hieratic. Originally of the simpler of two forms of ancient Egyptian writing; broader sense is from 1831; used of Greek since 1927.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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