Advertisement

Advertisement

Coptic

[ kop-tik ]

noun

  1. an Afroasiatic language of Egypt descended from ancient Egyptian, largely extinct as a spoken language since the 16th century but surviving as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church.


adjective

  1. of or relating to Coptic or the Copts.

Coptic

/ ˈkɒptɪk /

noun

  1. an Afro-Asiatic language, written in the Greek alphabet but descended from ancient Egyptian. It was extinct as a spoken language by about 1600 ad but survives in the Coptic Church
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adjective

  1. of or relating to this language
  2. of or relating to the Copts
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of Coptic1

First recorded in 1670–80; Copt + -ic
Discover More

Example Sentences

The fragment is written in Coptic, not Greek, and is not actually from the Bible, as the title would indicate.

He tentatively suggested that the text is a pastiche compiled by a modern forger with an elementary grasp of Coptic.

Pharaonic scenes, Muslim symbols, poetry, and Coptic icons—great vivid murals bloomed onto the walls.

I met him at the Coptic Hospital when I went to visit the Maspero injured.

And Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri accused Coptic Pope Tawadros II of wanting to establish a Coptic state in Egypt.

Zoëga busied himself greatly with Egypt, and in inaugurating the study of Coptic prepared the way for Champollion.

The name is derived from an abandoned Coptic convent which existed among the ruins of the ancient building.

Christianity was introduced during the Roman period, and the Coptic Church established.

The practice of the Coptic church is almost identical with this.

The Coptic nearly resembles the Hottentot language, a good many roots and some words being the same in both.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


copterCoptic Church