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Added 9 October 2026

demotic

/dɪˈmɒt.ɪk/ adjective

First recorded: 1822 Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about demotic at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Of or for the common people.
demotic writing style
Of, relating to, or written in the ancient Egyptian script that developed from Lower Egyptian hieratic writing starting from around 650 BCE and was chiefly used to write the Demotic phase of the Egyptian language, with simplified and cursive characters that no longer corresponded directly to their hieroglyphic precursors.
Of, relating to, or written in the form of modern vernacular Greek.
demotic Greek

noun

Language as spoken or written by the common people.

Origin

First attested in 1822, from Ancient Greek δημοτικός (dēmotikós, “common”), from δημότης (dēmótēs, “commoner”), from δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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