katharevousa
/ˌkaθəˈrɛvuːsə
/noun [mass noun]
A heavily archaized form of modern Greek used in traditional literary writing, as opposed to the form which is spoken and used in everyday writing (called demotic).He excelled as a pupil and, like the minority of his generation who received schooling, he was taught through the medium of katharevousa - the archaic pure form of the Greek language....
- The chief problem with katharevousa was that it was an arbitrary mixture of ancient and modern features.
- But I have been told by a Greek friend about an uncle of hers, a priest, for whom katharevousa was the natural medium of expression.
Origin
Early 20th century: modern Greek, literally 'purified', feminine of kathareuōn, present participle of Greek kathareuein 'be pure', from katharos 'pure'.