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Coptic

Coptic

2 9.9
The language used in church services in Egypt and Ethiopia
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒptɪk/
translation icon : copto
  • Clare was a graduate student, older than I was and much farther along in the study of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts—she was advanced enough in Coptic actually to be able to help our professors in translating the texts.
  • Coptic language
  • ancient Coptic

At the beginning, Arabic was working alongside Greek and Coptic.

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Examples

  • The Coptic says Judas saw the cloud and he entered into it.

  • It's written in Coptic, but the original text, as yet unfound, was in Greek.

    Blog text (18)
  • And he said, "I am a Christian; I am a Coptic."

    Academic text (1998)
  • Many of these were the works of gnostics, often written in Coptic.

    Blog text (20)
  • You are familiar with the languages of opera and those of antiquity: Greek, Hebrew, and Coptic.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • King believes that it was most likely first written in Greek and only later translated into Coptic for use among congregations of Coptic-speaking Christians.

    Blog text (2)
  • We celebrate the Mass in five rites (Latin, Malabar, Malankara, Maronite, and Coptic) and in 12 different languages.

    Blog text (20)
  • Even today, the Coptic and Ethiopian churches used the Era of the Martyrs, which dates all events from the accession of the great persecutor Diocletian.

  • Well, the debate continues over whether a historical Jesus really existed, but in the meantime, a fourth-century fragment of papyrus manuscript, written in Coptic (below), has appeared suggesting that God Incarnate might have had a wife.

    Blog text (20)
  • During the service, the priest read the prayers in Coptic to honor the traditions of the church.

Synonyms

Coptic language
vsCoptic
9.9

A language used in Coptic church services in Egypt and Ethiopia, written with Greek letters

is the same but emphasizes primary use and that the alphabet is mainly Greek

Compounds

A language used in Coptic church services in Egypt and Ethiopia, written with Greek letters

A Christian community in Egypt with old traditions and its own way of worship

Surface Forms

Coptic singular
Coptics plural

Morphology

Coptic = Copt (transparent) = Copt + ic

The adjective-forming suffix '-ic' transparently yields 'relating to the Copts', and the noun use for the language is a straightforward adjectival nominalization.

Etymology

Coptic comes from a name for the people of Egypt, passed through Arabic qibṭ and Greek Aigyptios, which meant 'Egyptian'. So, Coptic today is the name of the old Christian language of Egypt used in church.