GREEK

Greek, Grecian, Hellenic

(adjective) of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language; “Greek mythology”; “a Grecian robe”

Greek, Hellenic, Hellenic language

(noun) the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages

Greek, Hellene

(noun) a native or inhabitant of Greece

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Proper noun

Greek (countable and uncountable, plural Greek)

The language of the Greek people, spoken in Greece, Cyprus and other Greek communities.

The writing system used in writing the Greek language.

A surname.

Usage notes

In writings about the modern world, Greek is used primarily for the modern language currently spoken in Greece, and Ancient Greek will be used for older forms of the language. In the classics and other pre-modern studies, Greek is used for the old forms of the language, and if the modern language is mentioned, it will be called Modern Greek.

Noun

Greek (countable and uncountable, plural Greeks)

(countable) An inhabitant, resident, or person of descent from Greece.

(uncountable, colloquial) Unintelligible speech or text, such as foreign speech or text, or regarding subjects the listener is not familiar with, such as mathematics or technical jargon; or statements that the listener does not understand or agree with.

(US, countable) A member of a college fraternity or sorority, which are characterised by being named after Greek letters. (See also Greek system.)

(archaic) A cunning rogue; a merry fellow.

(uncountable, slang) Anal sex.

(uncountable) Greek cuisine; traditional Greek food.

(finance, mostly, in the plural) One of the Greeks, measures of derivative price sensitivity.

Adjective

Greek (comparative Greeker, superlative Greekest)

Of or relating to Greece, the Greek people, or the Greek language.

(US) Of or pertaining to a fraternity or sorority.

Unintelligible, especially regarding foreign speech or text, or regarding subjects the speaker is not familiar with, such as mathematics or technical jargon.

Synonyms

• Graeco-

• Grecian

• Hellenic

• Helleno-

Anagrams

• Gerke

Etymology

Noun

greek (plural greeks)

Alternative letter-case form of Greek (“nonsense writing or talk; gibberish”).

Alternative letter-case form of Greek (“anal sex”).

Verb

greek (third-person singular simple present greeks, present participle greeking, simple past and past participle greeked)

(transitive, computing) To display a placeholder (instead of text), especially to optimize speed in displaying text that would be too small to read.

(transitive, computing) To fill a template with nonsense text (particularly the Lorem ipsum), so that form can be focused on instead of content.

Anagrams

• Gerke

Source: Wiktionary


Greek, a. Etym: [AS. grec, L. Graecus, Gr. : cf. F. grec. Cf. Grecian.]

Definition: Of or pertaining to Greece or the Greeks; Grecian. Greek calends. See under Calends.

– Greek Church (Eccl. Hist.), the Eastern Church; that part of Christendom which separated from the Roman or Western Church in the ninth century. It comprises the great bulk of the Christian population of Russia (of which this is the established church), Greece, Moldavia, and Wallachia. The Greek Church is governed by patriarchs and is called also the Byzantine Church.

– Greek cross. See Illust. (10) Of Cross.

– Greek Empire. See Byzantine Empire.

– Greek fire, a combustible composition which burns under water, the constituents of which are supposed to be asphalt, with niter and sulphur. Ure.

– Greek rose, the flower campion.

Greek, n.

1. A native, or one of the people, of Greece; a Grecian; also, the language of Greece.

2. A swindler; a knave; a cheat. [Slang] Without a confederate the . . . game of baccarat does not . . . offer many chances for the Greek. Sat. Rev.

3. Something unintelligible; as, it was all Greek to me. [Colloq.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 December 2024

QUANDONG

(noun) Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit


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Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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