Greek

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See also greek

Contents

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin Graecus, from Ancient Greek Γραικός (Graikos, “a character in Greek mythology”) (a son of Thessalos, the king of Phthia), whom Ἑλλάς (Hellas, “Greece”), and Ἕλληνες (Hellenes), were also named after; see also Ἕλλην and Hellen.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Greek (countable and uncountable; plural Greeks)

  1. (countable) An inhabitant, resident, or a person of descent from Greece.
  2. (US, countable) A member of a college fraternity or sorority, which are commonly characterised by being named after Greek letters. (See also Greek system)
    "Was Joe a Greek in college?"
  3. (uncountable) 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.
    • 1821, Mary Jane Mackenzie, Geraldine, or Modes of faith and practice[1], page 8:
      "I don't hear one word in ten that they say," continued Mrs. Abingdon; "it's Greek to me. However, ..."
    • 1859, Kinahan Cornwallis, Two journeys to Japan, 1856-7, Volume 2[2], page 246:
      "It's all Greek to me," said my companion at the outset, but as the warrior continued, his fears arose within him; it might be sentence of death — what did he know what it might not be?
    • 1951 December, “Which Kind of Life Insurance Policy?”, Changing Times - The Kiplinger Magazine, volume 5, number 12, page 28: 
      ...preferred risk...family maintenance...20-pay life. That's a bare sampling of the merchandise you're asked to pick and choose from. If it sounds like Greek to you, don't worry. It sounds like Greek to most people.
  4. (uncountable, slang) anal sex
    • 2001, "(unknown)", ASP: "Julie" of Oral-Land-Oh (on newsgroup alt.sex.prostitution)
      She is absolutely a total GFE, no limits, except no Greek. (Well...I say “no Greek” - - if she is really hot for you, and if she is really turned on in a long session, she might beg for a finger in her anus while you suck her clit, but she is just too tiny and tight for any “real meat” in the backdoor.)

Translations[edit]

inhabitant, etc., of Greece
member of a fraternity or sorority
nonsense talk or writing; gibberish

Proper noun[edit]

Greek

  1. The language of the Greek people, spoken in Greece and in Greek communities.
  2. The writing system used in Greek language.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

language of the Greek people

Adjective[edit]

Greek (comparative Greeker, superlative Greekest)

  1. Of or relating to Greece, the Greek people, or the Greek language.
  2. Of or pertaining to a fraternity or sorority.
  3. unintelligible, especially regarding foreign speech or text, or regarding subjects the speaker is not familiar with, such as mathematics or technical jargon.

Synonyms[edit]

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the template {{sense|"gloss"}}, substituting a short version of the definition for "gloss".

Translations[edit]

of the Greek language, people or country
pertaining to a fraternity etc
unintelligible, especially regarding foreign speech

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from Greek

Related terms[edit]

terms related to Greek

See also[edit]

Wiktionary
Greek edition of Wiktionary
Other headwords of interest

Statistics[edit]

External links[edit]

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