greek
greek — adjective
1. Connected with the country of Greece, including its people, culture, and languag
Connected with the country of Greece, including its people, culture, and language.
Iris taught us how to make a traditional Greek salad with olives and feta cheese.
collocation: Greek salad / Greek food
The blue and white stripes of the Greek flag appear on buildings across the islands.
Sahil is taking a course on ancient Greek poetry and philosophy this term.
We spent our summer holiday on a small Greek island called Naxos.
Rania ordered a Greek coffee and baklava at the café by the old harbour.
- Hellenic
Much more formal; used mainly for ancient Greek civilization, not modern Greece (e.g. Hellenic culture, Hellenic studies)
常見錯誤
greek — noun
1. A person who comes from Greece, or someone whose ancestors were Greek.
A person who comes from Greece, or someone whose ancestors were Greek.
Hassan met a Greek who showed him around the ruins of the Acropolis.
countable: a Greek / the Greeks
Many Greeks settled in Australia and the United States during the twentieth century.
The restaurant owner is a Greek from Thessaloniki who makes his own olive oil.
Gabriel's grandmother is a Greek who was born on the island of Crete.
Quan's roommate is a Greek who speaks four languages and plays the bouzouki.
- Hellene
Very formal or literary; used mostly in historical or scholarly contexts about ancient Greece
- Greek Cypriot
Specifically a person from Cyprus of Greek heritage; narrower than 'Greek'
用法筆記
The plural 'the Greeks' can refer collectively to the people of Greece (e.g. 'the Greeks invented democracy') or to ancient Greek civilization.
常見錯誤
2. The spoken and written language of Greece, in use continuously from ancient time
The spoken and written language of Greece, in use continuously from ancient times through the present day.
William has been learning Greek for two years and can now read short stories.
verb + Greek: learn / speak / read / study Greek
The word 'democracy' comes from ancient Greek and means 'rule by the people'.
Élise translated the poem from Greek into English for her literature class.
Modern Greek sounds quite different from the ancient form of the language.
Camila wrote her name in Greek on the blackboard to show the class the alphabet.
- Hellenic
A formal term for the Greek language group, mainly used in academic linguistics
用法筆記
When referring to the language, 'Greek' is uncountable. Use 'ancient Greek' for the classical form and 'modern Greek' for the language spoken today.
常見錯誤
3. A student who belongs to a social club at a US college or university, where the
A student who belongs to a social club at a US college or university, where the club is named with two or three letters from the Greek alphabet.
Christopher joined a fraternity last year and is now an active Greek on campus.
collocation: active Greek / campus Greek
On campus the Greeks often hold charity events to raise money for local causes.
Astrid chose not to become a Greek because she preferred to focus on her studies.
Hui visited the Greek house for a welcome party for new students.
- fraternity brother
Specifically a male member of a fraternity; narrower than 'Greek' which covers both fraternities and sororities
- sorority sister
Specifically a female member of a sorority
用法筆記
This sense is almost exclusive to US universities. 'Greek life' refers to the culture and activities of fraternities and sororities on campus.
greek — verb
1. In design and publishing, to fill a page or screen with sample characters or non
In design and publishing, to fill a page or screen with sample characters or nonsense words so that the visual arrangement can be evaluated before the final content is ready.
The designer greeked the body text so the client could focus on the layout.
simple active: subject + greek + object
Before the real articles arrive, the pages are usually greeked with lorem ipsum filler.
passive: be greeked with [filler text]
William greeked the brochure so the review team would judge the design, not the words.
The editor asked the designer to stop greeking the copy and use real headlines instead.
- fill with placeholder text
More descriptive and less technical; explains the action without using the jargon
文法句型
greek + noun phrase
用法筆記
Common in professional graphic design and web development workflows. Often used in the passive form ('the text is greeked'). The filler text is traditionally 'Lorem Ipsum', a scrambled passage of Latin.
2. In film and TV production, to cover up or alter the brand names and symbols on o
In film and TV production, to cover up or alter the brand names and symbols on objects that appear on screen, typically because the producer does not have legal permission to show them.
The production team greeked the soda cans to avoid paying for brand placement.
simple active + purpose infinitive
For the car chase scene all vehicle logos were greeked by the post-production crew.
passive: were greeked by [agent]
The director decided to greek the smartphone labels rather than ask the manufacturer.
All branded clothing in the movie was greeked to avoid free advertising.
- blur
A more common, general term for making logos unrecognisable in video; 'greek' is the industry jargon for the process
- obscure
Describes the effect (making something hard to see) without the technical sense of replacement
- pixelate
A specific visual technique; 'greek' can also mean replacing with a blank or altered image
文法句型
greek + noun phrase
用法筆記
Used almost exclusively by film and television production professionals. The term comes from the same design-jargon root as sense 1 — both refer to replacing real content with a stand-in.