GREEK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Greek mean? 

• GREEK (noun)
  The noun GREEK has 2 senses:

1. the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages

2. a native or inhabitant of Greece

  Familiarity information: GREEK used as a noun is rare.

• GREEK (adjective)
  The adjective GREEK has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language

  Familiarity information: GREEK used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GREEK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Greek; Hellenic; Hellenic language

Hypernyms ("Greek" is a kind 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)

Domain region:

Ellas; Greece; Hellenic Republic (a republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan peninsula; known for grapes and olives and olive oil)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Greek"):

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)

Modern Greek; New Greek (the Greek language as spoken and written today)

Derivation:

Greek (of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A native or inhabitant of Greece

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Greek; Hellene

Hypernyms ("Greek" is a kind of...):

European (a native or inhabitant of Europe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Greek"):

Thessalonian (a native or inhabitant of Thessalonica)

Thessalian (a native or inhabitant of Thessaly)

Mycenaen (a native or inhabitant of ancient Mycenae)

Ephesian (a resident of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus)

Argive (a native or inhabitant of the city of Argos)

Theban (a Greek inhabitant of ancient Thebes)

Arcadian (an inhabitant of Arcadia)

Spartan (a resident of Sparta)

Lesbian (a resident of Lesbos)

Laconian (a resident of Laconia)

Corinthian (a resident of Corinth)

Athenian (a resident of Athens)

Ionian; Dorian; Aeolian; Eolian; Achaean; Achaian (a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks)

Holonyms ("Greek" is a member of...):

Ellas; Greece; Hellenic Republic (a republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan peninsula; known for grapes and olives and olive oil)

Derivation:

Grecian; Greek (of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language)

• GREEK (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to or characteristic of Greece or the Greeks or the Greek language

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

Grecian; Greek; Hellenic

Context example:

a Grecian robe

Pertainym:

Greece (a republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan peninsula; known for grapes and olives and olive oil)

Derivation:

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

Greek (a native or inhabitant of Greece)

 Context examples 

‘Never!’ he wrote in Greek upon the slate.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hippocamp is a half-horse half-fish from Greek mythology.

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)

Chemical name. (spell Greek characters and don't use superscript or subscript)

(Chemical Name, Food and Drug Administration)

The microglial cells are responsible for clearing out old and worn out cells via a process called phagocytosis - meaning "to devour" in Greek.

(Lack of Sleep Makes Brain to Literally Eat Itself, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Oh, it's all Greek, I know, and I won't bother you any more with it.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The Greeks wept for joy when they beheld the Mediterranean from the hills of Asia, and hailed with rapture the boundary of their toils.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Yes; just as if you were speaking Greek.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"A stunning blow from the big Greek lexicon, which an old fellow in a black gown fired at him," said Ned.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I had some vague recollection of an explanation at the time of the Adventure of the Greek Interpreter.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The term 'phyto' originated from a Greek word meaning plant.

(Phytochemical, NCI Thesaurus)