Late Greek (Noun)
Meaning
The Greek language in the 3rd to 8th centuries.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The linguistic developments of the Hellenistic period continued in the late Greek spoken and written during the Roman and Byzantine eras.
- During this period, late Greek gradually came to replace earlier Greek as the literary and epistolary language.
- Many writers and intellectuals, however, still maintained an idealized image of Classical Greek and opposed the natural evolution of the language towards late Greek.
- By the end of the Byzantine era, late Greek had diverged so significantly from the original Attic-Ionic koine that some linguists classify it as a separate dialect or language.
- Although scholars may vary in their opinions, most researchers of Greek historical linguistics and palaeography identify the mid-3rd century AD as the boundary separating late Greek from its immediate predecessor.