Definition: Demotic refers to the language used by ordinary people, particularly a simplified script used in ancient Egypt and modern Greek popular speech.
Etymology & Origin: The term ‘demotic’ comes from the Greek word ‘demotikos,’ meaning ‘of the people,’ derived from ‘demos,’ meaning ‘people.’ It was first used in the early 19th century.
Examples:
- Demotic script was used for daily writing in ancient Egypt, contrasting with the more formal hieroglyphs.
- In Greece, demotic Greek is the colloquial form of the language, as opposed to the more formal Katharevousa.
