I. heˈlenik, -nēk sometimes -lēn- adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Greek Hellēnikos, from Hellēn + -ikos -ic
1. : greek ; specifically : of, relating to, or characteristic of Greek history or culture between the first Olympiad in 776 B.C. and the conquests of Alexander ending in 323 B.C. constituting a period of a growing sense of solidarity among the independent city states and of original and influential achievements in politics, art, literature, and philosophy : classical
the controlled intensity of thought and emotion of the Hellenic Athenians was not for the people of Hellenistic times — E.H.Short
2. : marked by intellectual or artistic Hellenism
the Hellenic temper of modern humanism
• hel·len·i·cal·ly -nə̇k(ə)lē, -nēk-, -li adverb , often capitalized
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
: classical Greek ; especially : greek 2a