1. The plural of demotic; forms of writing or language that are simplified, popular, or used by ordinary people rather than scholars or the elite.
Usage: Often used in historical or linguistic contexts, especially referring to ancient Egyptian writing systems.
2. In ancient Egypt, the simplified cursive script used for everyday writing, as opposed to hieroglyphic or hieratic scripts.
Usage: historical; Egyptology

Examples

• Scholars studied the demotics found on papyri to understand how ordinary Egyptians communicated.
• The Rosetta Stone contains text in hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek, making it invaluable for deciphering demotics.
• Unlike the formal hieratic script, demotics were written more quickly and casually.
• Ancient merchants used demotics for their business records and correspondence.
• The development of demotics reflected the need for a faster, more practical writing system.