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Demotic Definition, Etymology, and Usage

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.

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