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demotic

Syllabification: (de·mot·ic)
Pronunciation: /diˈmätik/

Definition of demotic

adjective

  • denoting or relating to the kind of language used by ordinary people; popular or 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

  • ordinary colloquial speech.
  • 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'

demotic in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of demotic in the British & World English dictionary
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