I. ˈgrēk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English Greke, from Old English Grēcas, plural, from Latin Graecus, from Greek Graikos
1. capitalized
a. : a native or inhabitant of Greece : one of the Greek people ; specifically : a member of one of the races of ancient Greece — compare achaean , aeolian , dorian , helladic , hellene , hellenistic 1, ionian , mycenaean , pelasgian
b. : one that is of Greek descent
c. : one that is Grecian in physical form or beauty of face : one suggesting a figure of classical Greek sculpture
the best athlete in our village, a young Greek in his movements — C.H.Towne
2. capitalized
a. : the language that has been used by the Greeks in its various stages of development from prehistoric times to the present and that constitutes by itself a branch of the Indo-European language family — see aeolic , arcadian , attic , cypriot , doric , ionic , koine , late greek , middle greek , new greek ; indo-european languages table
b. : ancient Greek as used from the time of the earliest records to the end of the 2d century A.D.
c.
[translation of Latin Graecum (in the medieval proverb Graecum est; non potest legi It is Greek; it cannot be read)]
: something unintelligible ; especially : gibberish
the theory of relativity is Greek to most people
3. capitalized : a member of an Eastern Orthodox church : orthodox
4. often capitalized
a. archaic : swindler , sharper ; especially : cardsharper
b. obsolete : a hail-fellow-well-met and reveler
5. usually capitalized : a member of a Greek-letter fraternity or sorority
II. adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Middle English greke, from Greke, n.
1.
a. : of, relating to, or characteristic of Greece
b. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Greeks
c. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the language of the Greeks
2. of architecture : of, relating to, or imitating the architecture of classical Greece : marked by pedimented structures that employ the Greek architectural orders
3.
a. : Eastern Orthodox
b. : of, relating to, or being an Eastern church using the Byzantine rite in Greek
c. : of, relating to, or being the established Orthodox church of Greece autocephalous under a holy synod since 1833