Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for Greek
Greek, proper n. [OE Crécas < early Teut. adoption of L. Græcus, Roman name for Greeks; < IE root gra/gar, venerable, ancient ones, honorable ones.]
- Language of Greece; Hellenic dialect; [fig.] unintelligible speech; foreign language; (see Acts 16:1).
- Spartan; young boy of ancient Greece; one who suffers without complaint; [allusion] Socrates; philosopher who drank hemlock when faced with execution.
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