demotic

 
Pronunciation: /dɪˈmɒtɪk/

adjective

  • denoting or relating to the kind of language used by ordinary people; colloquial: a demotic idiom
  • relating to or denoting the form of modern Greek used in everyday speech and writing. Compare with katharevousa.
  • relating to or denoting a simplified, cursive form of ancient Egyptian script, dating from circa 650 bc and replaced by Greek in the Ptolemaic period. Compare with hieratic.

noun

[mass noun]
  • ordinary colloquial speech: he blinked in mild surprise at this uncharacteristic leap into the demotic
  • demotic Greek.
  • demotic Egyptian script.

Origin:

early 19th century (in the sense 'relating to the Egyptian demotic'): from Greek dēmotikos 'popular', from dēmotēs 'one of the people', from dēmos 'the people'