Katharevousa

Definitions

A learned, archaising form of Modern Greek, based on Classical Greek and used for formal and official purposes; it was legally displaced as the official language of Greece in 1976 by Demotic Greek.

Equivalents

Examples

“‘You read⟳ the poetry of Cavafy, I have⟳ taught you to speak⟳ Katharevousa and Italian.’”

“A year later, after much deliberation and public discussion, an act of parliament established that demotic Greek was to replace⟳ the hybrid katharevousa as the official language of education – and therefore, in practice, in most walks of life (exceptions are the Church and law).”

CEFR level