Greekn.
/ɡriːk/, U.S. /ɡrik/ I. An inhabitant of Greece, and related uses.† 3. A Hellenized Jew; = Grecian n. 1b. Obsolete.
1.
a. A native or inhabitant of Greece; a member of the Greek people; a person of Greek descent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [noun] > native or inhabitant of Greece
Greekc893
Gregois13..
Griffon13..
Grewa1375
Hellene1482
Grecana1500
Argive?1532
Greciana1549
Hellenist1606
Greeklinga1637
Graecaster1716
Helladian1773
bubble and squeak1938
bubble1962
c893 tr. Orosius Hist. v. xii. §4 Þa foran hi on Crecas.
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iv. xxxii. [xxxi.] 378 Mid þa aðle geslægene..þe Grecas nemnað paralysis.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17560 Forr werelld iss nemmnedd cossmos. Swa summ þe grickess kiþenn.
c1275 Laȝamon Brut 801 Leteþ þe Greckes [earlier text þa Grickisca] glide to grunde.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. (1898) 66 Þe bigynynge of Philosophye hadden Indes, Grecys, Percys and Latyns.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xix. cxxviii. sig. nni/2 All rounde thynges ben callyd Mala amonge the Grekys [a1398 BL Add. among þe Greece].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) John xii. 20 There were certayne Grekes (among them that were come vp to Ierusalem to worshipe at the feast).
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 40 Homer..Þat with the Grekys was gret.
1605 S. Daniel Ulisses & Siren 1 Come worthy Greeke, Ulisses, come.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. ii. §2 Those who were renowned among the Greeks for wisdome and learning.
1839 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) II. xiv. 216 The artful Greek..persuaded Darius of his innocence.
1842 J. C. Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 200 The Greeks are generally tall, and finely formed.
1871 J. Caird Univ. Serm. (1898) i. 19 The Greek with his hereditary love of freedom and art.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 31 A Greek in the age of Plato.
b. Proverb. when Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war: the now usual perversion of Nathaniel Lee's line (see quot. 1677).
ΚΠ
1677 N. Lee Rival Queens iv. 48 When Greeks joyn'd Greeks, then was the tug of War.
1839 C. J. Lever Harry Lorrequer (1857) 104 When short whist for five-penny points sets in—then Greek meets Greek and we'll have it.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash xxxv Meantime unknown to these bewildered ones, Greek was meeting Greek only a few yards off.
2. A member or adherent of the Greek Church.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Greek Orthodoxy > [noun] > person
easternOE
Greekc1380
Easterling1536
Greciana1549
orientalist1683
fermentarian1775
Prozymite1850
orthodox1888
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 332 Þe þridde maner & leste yuel, þat men seyn þat greks han, is þat þe prest preyeþ þat god assoyle hym.
c1547 S. Gardiner Let. 21 May in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1563) 734/1 There is nothing more commended vnto vs christen men in both the churches of the grekes & lattens then lent is.
1696 tr. J. Dumont New Voy. Levant 190 Both the Greeks and Romanists were extremely griev'd for the Loss of their Saint.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Of the Seven Latin Sacraments..the Greeks only admit five.
1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 389/2 The Greeks generally were averse to the addition of the ‘Filioque’, and to the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist.
1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 392/1 In addition to Lent, the Greeks keep the fast of ‘the Mother of God’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > Semite > [noun] > Jew > Hellenistic
Greekc1384
Grecian1611
Hellenist1614
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [noun] > native or inhabitant of Greece > Grecian Jew
Greekc1384
Grecian1611
Hellenist1614
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds vi. 1 In tho dayes..grucchinge of Greekis is maad aȝens Ebrews.
1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. New Test. Acts vi. 1 Those Jews that understood the Greek Tongue, and used the Greek Translation of the Scripture, were called Greeks.
4. A cunning or wily person; a cheat, sharper, esp. one who cheats at cards. (Cf. French grec.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card-sharping or cheating > [noun] > card-sharper
Greek1528
cheaterc1555
packer1586
palmer1671
operator1731
card sharp1840
card-sharper1841
mechanic1897
sharpie1942
card shark2002
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe sig. i iiij In carde playinge he is a goode greke.
1568 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. ix. 217 A cowle, a cowle for such a Greek Were fitter for to wear.
1664 Floddan Field vii. 69 Giles Musgrave was a Guileful Greek.
1794 Sporting Mag. 3 227 The waiter pillages the greek, The greek the spendthrift fleeces.
1810 W. Combe Schoolmaster's Tour in Poet. Mag. Nov. 10 If I may with freedom speak, I take you for a very Greek.
1823 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry ii. v Come lads, bustle about; play will begin—some of the Pigeons are here already, the Greeks will not be long following.
1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxxvi. 361 He was an adventurer, a pauper, a blackleg, a regular Greek.
1884 Sat. Rev. 16 Feb. 202/1 Without a confederate the..game of baccarat does not seem to offer many chances for the Greek.
5. Qualified by merry, mad, gay: A merry fellow; a roysterer; a boon companion; a person of loose habits.See grig n.1 5; the relation between the two words is uncertain.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaker > [noun] > habitual
fellowa1225
goodfellowa1393
Greek1536
boon companion1566
jovialist1596
Ephesian1600
Trojan1600
jolly dog1799
convivialist1810
boonfellow1876
fellow well met1885
jollier1896
1536 R. Morison Remedy for Sedition sig. 7v Whom can they refuse, when smythes, coblers, tylers, carters, and such other gay grekes, seme worthy to be theyr gouernours?
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. i. sig. A.ijv (stage direct.) Mathewe Merygreeke. He entreth singing.
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 396 O hee is a merie greeke, a pleasaunt companion, and in faith a good fellowe.
c1600 Return: 1st Pt. i. i, in Three Parnassus Plays (1949) 148 Thou seems a mad greeke, & I haue loude such ladds of metall as thou seems to be from mine infancie.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. iv. 55 A wofull Cressid 'mongst the merry Greekes. View more context for this quotation]
1611 H. Holland in T. Coryate Crudities sig. d8v Vlysses was a merry Greeke they say, So Tom is, and the Greeker of the tway.
1635 T. Heywood Philocothonista 44 To title a drunkard by, wee..strive to character him in a more mincing and modest phrase; as thus:—Hee is a good fellow, or A boone Companion, A mad Greeke, A true Trojan.
1650 J. Howell Cotgrave's French-Eng. Dict. (rev. ed.) Ep. Ded. sig. a3v They tearm in French, a boon companion or merry greek, Roger bon temps.
1694 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais (1737) v. 216 Merry-Greeks with crimson Snouts.
6. slang. An Irishman. (Cf. Grecian adj. and n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Irish > [noun] > native or inhabitant of Ireland
IrishmanOE
Ireis1297
hooded mana1464
Mac1518
Irish1553
Teague?1661
bog-trotter1682
Milesian1682
dear joy1688
Teaguelander1689
paddy1714
bog-lander1736
bog-stalkera1758
brogueneer1758
paddywhack1773
Pat1796
West Briton1805
Irisher1807
Patlander1820
Greek1823
Mick1850
redneck1852
Grecian1853
mickeyc1854
Mike1859
harp1904
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Greek—Irishmen call themselves Greeks—none else follow the same track to the east; throughout this land, many unruly districts are termed Grecian.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 226/2 We had the Greeks (the lately-arrived Irish) down upon us more than once.
1872 Standard 3 Sept. 5/2 ‘Greek’, as some of your readers are aware, is colonial slang for ‘Irish’.
II. [absolute use of the adjective: see etymology.]
7. The ancient or modern language of Greece; the Greek language. Also, a particular form or period of the language, as late Greek, Ionic Greek, modern Greek.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Greek
Greekishc1050
Grewc1275
Greeka1400
Hellenic1741
c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 46 Hælend miclæ stefnæ cwæþende in grec [MS. gc] god min god min for-whon forletes þu mec.]
a1400–50 Alexander 5009 Sothly..þe son-tree..Entris in with yndoyes & endis in greke.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) Prol. 2 Suffise to the thise trewe conclusiouns in englissh, as wel as suffisith to thise noble clerkes grekes thise same conclusiouns in grek.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) ii. 10 The Table aboven his Heved..on the whiche the Title was writen, in Ebreu, Grece and Latyn.
1534 T. Starkey Let. in Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. x The knolege of both tongys bothe latyn & greke.
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 71v Cato being aged, in his last yeres went to schoole to Enneus, to learne the Greeke.
1623 B. Jonson in W. Shakespeare Comedies, Hist. & Trag. sig. A4 And though thou hadst small Latine, and lesse Greeke.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. i. i. §3. 3 The Greek was anciently of very great extent, not onely in Europe, but in Asia too, and Afric.
1700 L. Maidwell in C. R. L. Fletcher Collectanea (1885) I. 310 Masters for Græc and Latin.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 16 Mar. (1965) I. 390 In Pera they speak Turkish, Greek, Hebrew [etc.].
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Modern or Vulgar Greek, is the Language now spoke in Greece.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) 'Tis not easy to assign the precise Difference between the vulgar, and the antient Greek.
1866 E. Masson tr. G. B. Winer Gram. New Testament Diction (ed. 6) Introd. 15 The Grammar of Later Greek..has not..been completely and systematically investigated.
1899 Oxf. Univ. Cal. 15 The Regius Professor of Greek.
8. Unintelligible speech or language, gibberish. Also heathen Greek (rarely Hebrew-Greek). (Cf. Hebrew n. 2b.) St. Giles's Greek: slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > unintelligible language, gibberish > [noun]
jargon1340
gibberishc1557
fustiana1593
hibber-gibber1593
rabble?1593
gabbling1599
rantum-scantum1599
ribble-rabble1601
gabble1602
High Dutch1602
Greek1603
baragouin1614
galimatias1653
riddle-me-ree1678
clink-clank1679
Hebrew1705
alieniloquy1727
jabber1735
mumbo-jumbo1738
gibbering1786
rigmarole1809
gibber1832
rigmarolery1833
Babelism1834
jargoning1837
barrikin1851
abracadabra1867
double Dutch1876
jabberwock1902
jabberwocky1908
jibber-jabber1922
mumbo-jumbery1923
mumbo1931
double-talk1938
garbology1944
the mind > language > a language > register > [noun] > slang
St. Giles's Greek1785
slum1812
slang1818
slanguage1879
1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. C Far... Asking for some greeke Poet, to him he falles..but Ile be sworne he knowes not so much as one Character of the tongue. Ric. Why then its greeke to him.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist ii. v. sig. F Svb. Is Ars sacra..A Heathen language? Ana. Heathen Greeke, I take it. Svb. How? Heathen Greeke? Ana. All's Heathen, but the Hebrew. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 279–84 He spoke Greeke..those that vnderstood him, smil'd at one another, and shooke their heads: but..it was Greeke to me.
1647 A. Cowley Discretion in Mistress ii Joynture, Portion, Gold, Estate..Are Greek no Lovers understand.
1769 J. Wesley Jrnl. 1 July (1827) III. 360 I knew this was heathen Greek to them.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Greek. St. Giles's Greek, the slang lingo, cant, or gibberish.
1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales II. xxi. 59 A number of the slang phrases current in St. Giles's Greek.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge i. 235 I am a stranger, and this is Greek to me.
1886 F. H. Doyle Reminisc. 239 As unintelligible to the person addressed as if it had been Hebrew-Greek.
1892 Nation (N.Y.) 7 July 13/1 Schubert clothed his melodies in wondrous harmonies, which were ‘Greek’ to his contemporaries.
9. plural. Typography. Greek characters or types.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [noun] > type face or font > Greek faces
Greeks1894
Porson1894
1894 W. G. Rutherford in Class. Rev. 82 Believing that the new Greeks are likely to be..widely adopted.
Compounds
General attributive. (See also Greek adj. 2.) C1. (In sense 1.)
Greek-peopled adj.
ΚΠ
1896 Westm. Gaz. 11 Nov. 2/2 The Greek-peopled islands.
Greek speaking adj.
ΚΠ
1898 Daily News 6 Oct. 3/1 There are Greek-speaking villages in Syria.
C2. (In sense 7.)
Greek factory n.
ΚΠ
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xii. 205 Oxford is a Greek factory, as Wilton mills weave carpet.
Derivatives
ˈGreekess n. a female Greek, a Greek woman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [noun] > native or inhabitant of Greece > woman
Greekess1660
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. iv. ii. 140 Jupiter, to whom a Greek and a Greekess..were yearly offered.
1902 J. London Let. 3 Mar. (1966) 277 Charmian sends her love to Greek and Greekess and all the Crowd.
ˈGreekless adj. having no Greek; without knowledge of Greek.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > [adjective] > ignorant of something > of Greek
Greekless1891
1891 Q. Rev. Jan. 217 An appreciable number of Greekless boys wish to go to the Universities.
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Dec. 3/2 It is intended apparently to institute a Cambridge B.Sc. degree for which there shall be a Greekless Little-Go.
Draft additions March 2006
U.S. College slang. A member of a fraternity or sorority, esp. one with a name composed of Greek letters; cf. Greek adj. Additions.
ΚΠ
1888 N.Y. Times 24 Nov. 3/3 A ‘Greek’ theoretically will go a long ways to do something for a ‘Frater’.
1949 Time 21 Mar. 47/2 Non-fraternity men, who outnumber the Greeks two to one, held a mass meeting.
2003 D. Williams-Wheeler Be my Sorority Sister 14 They are hard working students. They are not like a lot of those other Greeks.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
Greekadj.
/ɡriːk/, U.S. /ɡrik/ 1.
a. Of or pertaining to Greece or its people; Hellenic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [adjective]
Grecana1400
Greekc1400
Gregion1513
Greekisha1568
Grecian1577
Grecanic1601
pan-Ionian1613
Hellenic1644
Grecanical1678
Hellenian1740
Helladian1773
Helladic1779
Greek-like1847
Panhellenic1849
pan-Ionic1855
Graecized1860
Greekesquea1878
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) Prol. 2 Thise noble clerkes grekes.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 1993 in Wks. (1931) I The auld Greik Historitiane Diodorus.
1674 H. Prideaux Lett. (1875) 23 I will determin all cronologicall controversys which have been ever moved in the Greeke history.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 64 I will not die alone,..leaving my ancient love With the Greek woman.
1872 J. Ruskin Eagle's Nest §168 Every Greek hero called himself chiefly by his paternal name.
b. Of buildings, works of art, physiognomy, etc.: Resembling what prevailed in Greece, Grecian.
ΚΠ
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess Prol. 2 And me that morning Walter show'd the house, Greek, set with busts.
1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. iii. 28 The straight Greek nose.
2.
a. As the designation of a language (see Greek n. 7). Hence, of words, idioms, grammar, etc.: Belonging to or characteristic of the Greek language. Of literary compositions: Written in the Greek language. Greek fathers n. those early Christian fathers (see father n. 8b) who wrote in Greek. (In uses like Greek professor, Greek scholar, the word is perhaps in most cases to be regarded as the noun used attributively.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [adjective] > Indo-European > Greek
Greekishc900
Grewc1400
Greek1548
Grecanic1601
Grecanical1678
Helladian1773
society > faith > aspects of faith > patristics > Fathers of the Church > [noun]
doctorc1390
church father1654
Greek fathers1711
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. i. Pref. sig. 14v The Greke diuines.
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 71v Terentius Varro was almost furtie yere olde, before he tooke a Greeke booke in hande, and yet prooued excellent in the Greeke tongue.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 100 This small packet of Greeke and Latine bookes. View more context for this quotation
1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 2 The ill habit..of wretched barbarizing against the Latin and Greek idiom, with their untutor'd Anglicisms.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 162 Stout Defenders of the Faith..that..are ready to make their own Testament, if they see a Greek one.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. v. i. 241 A foreign Protestant Divine, and most learn'd Defender of Religion, making the best Excuse he can for the Greek-Fathers.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) In the living Tongues, are still preserved a vast Number of Greek Terms of Arts.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Accent Wetstein, Greek Professor at Basil.
a1831 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 164/1 The Greek or Latin construction.
1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 435/1 Such doctrines as..were confirmed by the Greek fathers of the church.
1866 E. Masson tr. G. B. Winer Gram. New Testament Diction (ed. 6) Introd. 15 The Greek diction of the sacred writers.
1866 E. Masson tr. G. B. Winer Gram. New Testament Diction (ed. 6) Introd. 21 It was in classical Greek philology that this pernicious empiricism was first exploded.
1895 W. A. Copinger in Trans. Bibliogr. Soc. 2 ii. 111 Lascaris's Greek Grammar was probably the first book printed in Greek characters.
b. Greek letter fraternity, Greek letter order, Greek letter society (U.S.): a club of students, denoted by two or three Greek letters; as the Phi Beta Kappa (ϕ β κ) society.
ΚΠ
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. III. cii. 454 The absence of colleges constituting social centres within a university has helped to develop..the Greek letter societies.
1894 H. H. Gardener Unofficial Patriot x. 146 He encouraged them to join the..Greek letter orders which admitted discussion of such topics.
1898 B'ham Weekly Post 22 Jan. 3/4 This [Kansas] farmer was a Greek-letter fraternity man.
3. The distinctive epithet of that section of the Christian Church (commonly known also as the Eastern Church (Eastern Church n.) or (Holy) Orthodox Church, and now representing the major Christian denominations of Greece, Russia, and other Eastern European countries), which acknowledge the primacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople and which finally formally renounced communion with the Roman see in the 11th cent. a.d. Also applied to its clergy, rites, buildings, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Greek Orthodoxy > [adjective]
Greek1564
eastern1572
Greciana1600
Greekish1606
Abassian1679
Anatolian1679
Eastern Orthodox1701
orthodox1716
Anatolic1839
1564 T. Becon New Catech. in Wks. 433 I passe ouer the other auncient fathers and doctours bothe of the Greke and Latin churches.
a1600 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie (1648) vi. 38 The Greek Church first, and in processe of time the Latin altred this order [of public penitence].
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Romanists call the Greek Church, the Greek Schism.
1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 435/2 The Greek convents follow the strict rule of St. Basilius.
1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 436/1 The Greek church under the Turkish dominion has preserved almost entirely its antient organization.
1877 A. W. Thorold in Good Words 17 The iconostas, or screen, which in Greek churches separates the body of the church from the sanctuary.
4. In specific names of plants and animals, as Greek tortoise, Greek valerian: see the nouns; also Greek nettle. Greek partridge n. of Southern Europe (the original Greek-Latin πέρδιξ, perdix), Alectoris graeca. Greek rose n. [translation of Latin rosa graeca] a book-name for the Campion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Caryophyllaceae (chickweeds and allies) > [noun] > campion and ragged robin
cow-rattle14..
campion1576
behen1578
crowsoap1578
white campion1578
catchfly1597
feather-top wild campion1597
frothy poppy1597
lime-wort1597
nonsuch1597
sea campion1597
spattling poppy (also campion)1597
Greek rose1601
lychnis1601
knap-bottle1640
moss pink1641
Lobel's catchfly1664
red robin1678
moss campion1690
red campion1728
round robin1741
Silene1751
Nottingham catchfly1762
silenal1836
Robin Hood1844
thunder-flower1853
gunpowder weed1860
sea-catchfly1864
robin redbreast1880
poppy1886
thunderbolt1886
rattleweed1893
cancer1896
bladder-campion-
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 129 The first kind is now called..in English Greek or Romayne Nettel.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 83 The Rose Campion, which our men call the Greeke Rose, and the Greekes name Lychnis.
Compounds
In specific names of things of actual or attributed Greek origin or referred to Greek style or usage: † Greek pitch n. [Latin pix Graeca] Obsolete = colophony n.
Greek braid n. braid arranged in the pattern of a fret (see fret n.1 3b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > braid > specific
parchment lace1542
lace1548
lacing1593
Naples lace1612
mignonette1721
struntain1793
French braid1809
lacet1822
Russia braid1825
Russian braid1839
soutache1856
mignardise1868
galloon1877
rickrack1880
Greek braid1894
vermicelli braid1904
tracing-braid1906
Paris binding1918
oak-leaf braid1934
1894 H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Romance 251 She..began touching the Greek-braid ornament on the edge of her skirt with trembling fingers.
Greek bread n. a kind of cake or biscuit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > other cakes
honey appleeOE
barley-cake1393
seed cakea1400
cake?a1425
pudding-cake?1553
manchet1562
biscuit cake1593
placent1598
poplin1600
jumbal1615
bread pudding1623
semel1643
wine-cakea1661
Shrewsbury cake1670
curd cake1675
fruitcake1687
clap-bread1691
simnel cake1699
orange-flower cake1718
banana cake1726
sweet-cake1726
torte1748
Naples cake1766
Bath cake1769
gofer1769
yeast-cake1795
nutcake1801
tipsy-cake1806
cruller1808
baba1813
lady's finger1818
coconut cake1824
mint cake1825
sices1825
cup-cake1828
batter-cake1830
buckwheat1830
Dundee seed cake1833
fat-cake1839
babka1846
wonder1848
popover1850
cream-cake1855
sly-cake1855
dripping-cake1857
lard-cake1858
puffet1860
quick cake1865
barnbrack1867
matrimony cake1871
brioche1873
Nelson cake1877
cocoa cake1883
sesame cake1883
marinade1888
mystery1889
oblietjie1890
stuffed monkey1892
Greek bread1893
Battenberg1903
Oswego cake1907
nusstorte1911
dump cake1912
Dobos Torte1915
lekach1918
buckle1935
Florentine1936
hash cake1967
space cake1984
1893 D. Radford Autobiogr. 24 Greek bread forced into fingers through a mould by pressure.
Greek Calends n. (see calends n. 3b).
Greek chorus n. transferred. Used in comparisons, etc., to indicate the wise, sympathetic comments or open wailing of the chorus in Attic tragedies (see chorus n. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [noun] > personification of lamentation
Greek chorus1863
the mind > emotion > compassion > [noun] > sympathy > sympathetic person(s) > persons commenting sympathetically
Greek chorus1863
1863 F. Nightingale in C. Woodham-Smith F. Nightingale (1951) xvii. 291 She [sc. Queen Victoria] always reminds me of the woman in the Greek chorus..wailing out her inexpressible despair.
1893 E. F. Benson Dodo I. iii. 56 He had no desire to interrupt this rapid monologue of Dodo's. He was quite content to play the part of the Greek chorus.
1913 J. Vaizey College Girl xxiii. 319 Hannah, as Greek Chorus, interposed moral remarks.
1947 A. Huxley Let. 9 Mar. (1969) 568 I visualize him as a kind of philosophical recluse, who comments upon all that is happening from the vantage ground of eternity, and acts as a kind of Greek chorus.
1962 J. Braine Life at Top v. 78 ‘You show him, Killer. You show him.’ It was like a Greek chorus.
Greek cross n. (see cross n. 18).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > cross > [noun] > other types of cross
potencec1460
cross patonce1562
entrailed1562
Avellan1610
Greek cross1725
Latin cross1797
pendall?1828
spindle cross1828
Irish cross1832
cross patée1844
Celtic cross1857
Teutonic cross1882
1725 J. Henley tr. B. de Montfaucon Antiq. Italy (ed. 2) 20 The Church is built in the shape of a Greek Cross.
1847 J. Yeowell Chron. Anc. Brit. Church xii. 135 Greek crosses; that is, having four short equal limbs.
Greek embroidery n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > other types of embroidery
cutwork1470
Alexandrinec1500
loose work1548
Irish stitch1560
opus anglicumc1840
opus anglicanum1848
chikan1858
straw embroidery1862
Greek embroidery1882
Hardanger1904
Assisi1923
hedebo1932
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 226/2 Greek Embroidery. This is a modern work..and consists in arranging upon a flat foundation pieces of coloured cloth or silk, in arabesque designs, and attaching these to the material with Chain, Herringbone, and other Embroidery stitches.
Greek fire n. a combustible composition for setting fire to an enemy's ships, works, etc.; so called from being first used by the Greeks of Constantinople.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > fire, radiation, or chemical weapons > [noun] > fire as weapon
fire?c1225
Greek fire?c1225
Greekish fire?c1225
wildfire1297
firework1528
liquid firea1616
dragoon1626
fire chemise1728
Grecian fire1774
chemise-
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 295 Þis grickisch fur is þeluue Iesu vre lauerd.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 136 Her eyen sparklyng and brennyng as fyre Grekyssh.
1828 P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. (1864) I. 80 [Edward I] gave orders for the employment of a new and dreadful instrument of destruction, the Greek fire, with which he had probably become acquainted in the East.
1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1872) 3rd Ser. i. 9 It is like the Greek fire used in ancient warfare, which burnt unquenched beneath the water.
1855 J. Hewitt Anc. Armour I. 90 The receipt for the composition of the Greek Fire may be found in the Treatise of Marcus Grecus.
Greek fret n. = fret n.1 3b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > geometric
checkingc1440
checkc1450
chequer-work1519
pane?a1549
diaper-work1602
chevron1605
diapery1631
fret1664
tooth-work1681
polygram1696
chequer1779
reticulum1797
Grecque1832
checkery1837
gammadion1848
diaper1851
key pattern1853
diapering1866
Greek fret1872
rangoli1884
geometric1894
Greek key1897
step pattern1908
Mondrian1964
1872 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera II. xxiii. 8 The pattern known as the ‘Greek fret’.
Greek gift n. a gift covering some act of treachery, with allusion to Virgil Æn. ii. 49, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > snare, trap, entanglement > [noun] > purporting to be gift
Trojan horse1574
wooden horse1622
Grecian horse1802
Greek gift1885
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > treachery > [noun] > gift concealing treachery
Trojan horse1574
Greek gift1885
1885 Times (Weekly ed.) 27 Nov. 11/3 [It] would be worse than a Greek gift.
Greek god n. (a) in extended sense and in comparisons used to denote a paragon of male physical beauty; (b) a short hairstyle with curls close to and all over the head.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [noun] > beautiful thing or person > beautiful person > beautiful man or boy
Cupidc1381
narcissusc1385
Ganymede?1566
Adonis?1571
Greek goda1910
beefcake1949
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > curled or frizzed style
frizz1668
bullhead1672
bull1699
buckle1711
frizzle1850
cataract curls1864
Niagara1864
water wave1876
marcel wave1895
permanent wave1906
Greek goda1910
marcel1921
finger wave1925
permanent1926
perm1927
home perm1949
Afro1967
natural1967
Jewfro1976
Jheri curl1977
bubble perm1992
a1910 W. F. Butler Autobiogr. (1911) iii. 42 I often look now as soldiers pass and marvel what has become of those old Greek gods.
1955 E. Coxhead Figure in Mist iv. 106 It was irritating that Greek gods should drop off the bus and suddenly reduce Matthew to insignificance.
1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 193 Greek god, introduced in 1967, a close haircut with flat curls all over the head as seen in statues of Apollo.
1968 Guardian 7 Oct. 7/1 They will give you Greek god treatment, a tight mass of tiny curls.
1969 G. Sims Sand Dollar v. 72 He emerged from the sea looking like a Greek god, his hair bleached nearly white.
1970 ‘O. John’ Diamond Dress viii. 90 Don't stand there like some Greek god! You've got about three minutes in which to get dressed.
Greek key n. (also Greek design, Greek pattern) = Greek fret n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > geometric
checkingc1440
checkc1450
chequer-work1519
pane?a1549
diaper-work1602
chevron1605
diapery1631
fret1664
tooth-work1681
polygram1696
chequer1779
reticulum1797
Grecque1832
checkery1837
gammadion1848
diaper1851
key pattern1853
diapering1866
Greek fret1872
rangoli1884
geometric1894
Greek key1897
step pattern1908
Mondrian1964
1897 Daily News 16 Jan. 6/5 Tailor-made gowns are finished on the skirt with three or five rows of braiding, usually in trefoil or Greek key pattern.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 2 Sept. 3/2 Its trimmings..running in vertical lines that end in Greek keys.
1899 Daily News 19 Apr. 2/1 A Greek key design in sugarwork.
Greek lace n. = Greek point n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > consisting of loops or looped stitches > lace > needle or point > types of
point de Venise1668
French point1675
point d'Espagne1676
Alençon lace1774
point de France1774
point-net1829
rose-point1832
point de Paris1840
point d'Alençon1842
point d'Argentan1842
Irish point1851
point d'aiguille1851
point de gaze1863
Venetian point1864
Burano lace1865
Greek lace1865
gros point1865
mermaid's lace1865
point de neige1865
punto a rilievo1865
punto in aria1865
Regency point1865
Venice point1865
point de reprise1872
point russe1872
Greek point1882
hollie point1882
Venetian raised point1882
point de minute1886
point de Sorrentoc1890
1865 F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace v. 74 The greater part of the conventionally termed Greek lace is really the Venetian reticella; the designs are of geometric fashion, and often of Oriental character.
1880 L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery 63 Design for quilt... To introduce squares of Greek or guipure lace.
1960 H. Hayward Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Collecting 134/1 ‘Greek lace’, a name given to drawn and cut work embroidery, often combined with geometrical needlepoint or pillow lace.
Greek masonry n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > disposition of stones or bricks > [noun] > types of disposition of stones
emplecton1601
isodomon1601
pseudisodomon1601
net-masonry1706
Greek masonry1728
longs and shorts1884
random1886
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Masonry Greek Masonry,..is that where, after we have laid two Stones, each of which makes a Course, another is laid at the end, which makes two Courses.
1847 A. C. Smeaton Builder's Pocket Man. (new ed.) 107 Greek masonry is that..where every alternate stone..is made of the whole thickness of the wall.
Greek ornament n. braid arranged in the pattern of a fret (see fret n.1 3b).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > processed resinous materials > [noun] > distilled from turpentine
colophonya1398
Colophonian resin1601
Greek pitch1657
colophane1838
1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cclix. [414] The Pomanders, Chaines and Bracelets that are made of..Greek-pitch are effectuall to warm the brain.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Pitch Greek-Pitch, or Spanish Pitch, is that boil'd in Water till it have lost its natural Smell.
Greek point n. a kind of needle-made lace.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > consisting of loops or looped stitches > lace > needle or point > types of
point de Venise1668
French point1675
point d'Espagne1676
Alençon lace1774
point de France1774
point-net1829
rose-point1832
point de Paris1840
point d'Alençon1842
point d'Argentan1842
Irish point1851
point d'aiguille1851
point de gaze1863
Venetian point1864
Burano lace1865
Greek lace1865
gros point1865
mermaid's lace1865
point de neige1865
punto a rilievo1865
punto in aria1865
Regency point1865
Venice point1865
point de reprise1872
point russe1872
Greek point1882
hollie point1882
Venetian raised point1882
point de minute1886
point de Sorrentoc1890
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 227/1 Greek Point. Also known as Roman Lace.. This needle made lace is one of the earliest made, being worked in the Ionian Isles..during the fifteenth century.
Derivatives
Greeˈkesque adj. [compare Italian grechesco] resembling what is Greek.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [adjective]
Grecana1400
Greekc1400
Gregion1513
Greekisha1568
Grecian1577
Grecanic1601
pan-Ionian1613
Hellenic1644
Grecanical1678
Hellenian1740
Helladian1773
Helladic1779
Greek-like1847
Panhellenic1849
pan-Ionic1855
Graecized1860
Greekesquea1878
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) I. 100 In the nave of Nôtre Dame every vestige of this Greekesque foliage is got rid of.
ˈGreekified adj. [see -fy suffix] rendered Greek in style or character, fashioned on a Greek model.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [adverb] > in a Greek fashion
Greekly1620
Hellenistically1646
Greekishly1831
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 292 I say of the same kinde Greekely termed homogeneous.
1654 R. Vilvain tr. Enchiridium Epigr. i. lxxxiv T' hav the books of the old Testament Greecly transfer'd.
ˈGreekness n. Greek character or quality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Greeks > [noun] > quality or character of
Graecism1609
Hellenism1728
Greeknessa1861
neohellenism1879
a1861 E. B. Browning Lett. R. H. Horne (1877) II. liv. 96 The necessary name ‘Psyche’ drew me towards the propriety of holding a certain Greekness in the other names.
1874 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera (1896) II. xliii. 388 The Greeks sometimes got their own way, as a mob; but nobody, meaning to talk of liberty, calls it ‘Greekness’.
Draft additions March 2006
U.S. Of, relating to, or designating college fraternities or sororities, esp. those with names composed of Greek letters (cf. sense 2b).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [adjective] > student society
Unionic1849
Greek1881
fratty1898
1881 N.Y. Times 4 Dec. 2/4 Judge Vinton decided what are known as the ‘Greek fraternity’ cases, holding that the rule of the Faculty..,excluding the members of such societies from the university, was within the limits of their lawful discretion.
1901 H. D. Sheldon Student Life & Customs 169 The O. K. Society arose from an opposition to the Greek fraternity system at Harvard in the year 1858.
1938 Nebraska State Jrnl. 20 Sept. 6/4 I have never inquired as to the exact dues and living expenses at Greek houses, but I have heard they vary from $35 to $70 a month.
2001 T. D. Chandler in A. J. D'Angelo et al. Inspiration for Greeks 57 Being Greek has certainly opened doors for me professionally..but perhaps the greatest gift is the cherished friendships with members of other Greek organizations.
Draft additions June 2001
Greek salad n. a salad of a style originating in Greece, typically containing olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and onion, dressed with olive oil and often lemon juice or vinegar.
ΚΠ
1921 C. A. Patterson Lunch Room as Money Maker 79 (advt.) Here you can obtain pleasing delicacies..on ‘Meatless Days’... For instance, Crab Meat Salad..Potato Salad..Greek Salad.
1950 F. Venos & L. Pritchard Can the Greeks Cook! 15 A beautiful sight to see..is a colorful Greek salad tastefully arranged on a large platter.
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 Apr. (Maryland Weekly section) 12 I passed up the barbecued spare ribs dinner..in favor of souvlaki... This was marinated chunks of beef and Greek salad served on pita bread.
1998 P. Cornwell Point of Origin (1999) 167 ‘One Greek salad’, I said. ‘And a chicken gyro in pita.’
Draft additions June 2015
Greek yogurt n. thick yogurt which has been strained to remove much of the whey.
ΚΠ
1968 Illustr. London News 28 Sept. 19/3 Greek herbs, ‘live Greek yogurt’ (the best in London), Greek wines and ouzos.
1987 E. Ronay Bird's Eye Guide Healthy Eating Out 129 Puds include thick greek yoghurt, fresh fruit salad and berry fruits in season.
2012 New Yorker 22 Oct. 14/3 Arctic-char crudo laced with cilantro oil and encircled by daubs of Greek yogurt and cucumber.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† Greekv.
Obsolete.
1. to Greek it: to follow the practice of the Greeks; to play the Greek scholar.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > humanistic studies > improve the mind, cultivate [verb (transitive)] > play the classical scholar
to Greek it1615
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 79 [Drinking]..sometimes as many together as there were letters contained in the names of their mistresses..Insomuch that those were prouerbially said to greeke it that quaft in that fashion.
1660 W. Durham Life R. Harris 14 The Bishop..tries his Examinate a little in Divinity, but most in other Learning and Greek, where the Bishops strength lay, but so long they both Greeked it, till at last they were both scoted, and to seek for words.
1799 E. Dubois Piece Family Biogr. II. 20 As to the t'other dead fellow, I never could greek it at all, that's flat.
2. Only in gerund and verbal noun: To cheat at cards. (Cf. Greek n. 4) slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card-sharping or cheating > [verb (intransitive)]
Greek1817
1817 Sporting Mag. 50 284 A discovery of Greeking at Brighton, has made considerable noise this month in the sporting world.
1819 F. MacDonogh Hermit in London III. 263 Then greeking transactions came on the tapis.
1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 247 (note) Elements of Greeking.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.c893adj.?c1225
v.1615