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koine (n.)
common literary dialect of Greek in the Roman and early medieval period, 1903, from feminine singular of Greek koinos "common, ordinary" (see coeno-). Used earlier as a Greek word in English. From 1926 of other dialects in similar general use.
[Isocrates] helped to lay the foundations for that invaluable vehicle of civilization, the Koinê Dialektos, through which, at the price of becoming easy, flat, common, and a little soulless, the Greek language in the Hellenistic period evangelized the whole Mediterranean world. [Gilbert Murray, "Greek Studies," 1946]
updated on April 20, 2021
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Definitions of koine from WordNet
Dictionary entries near koine
Kodiak
Koh-i-noor
kohl
kohlrabi
koi
koine
koinonia
kola
kolkhoz
Komodo dragon
Komsomol