Doric

[dawr-ik, dor-] /ˈdɔr ɪk, ˈdɒr-/
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to Doris, its inhabitants, or their dialect.
2.
rustic, as a dialect.
3.
Architecture. noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders, developed in Greece and altered by the Romans. The Greek Doric order consists typically of a channeled column without a base, having as a capital a circular echinus supporting a square abacus, above which come a plain architrave, a frieze of triglyphs and metopes, and a cornice, the corona of which has mutules on its soffit. In the Roman Doric order, the columns usually have bases, the channeling is sometimes altered or omitted, and the capital usually consists of three parts: a thick, bandlike necking, an echinus with an ovolo outline, and a molded abacus.
Compare composite (def 2), Corinthian (def 2), Ionic (def 1), Tuscan (def 2).
noun
4.
a dialect of ancient Greek spoken on Rhodes and other islands of the Dodecanese, in Crete, in Syracuse, and in all of the Peloponnesus except Arcadia.
5.
rustic English speech.
Origin
1555-65; < Latin Dōricus < Greek Dōrikós Dorian
Related forms
pre-Doric, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Doric

Doric

/ˈdɒrɪk/
adjective
1.
of or relating to the Dorians, esp the Spartans, or their dialect of Ancient Greek
2.
of, denoting, or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture: characterized by a column having no base, a heavy fluted shaft, and a capital consisting of an ovolo moulding beneath a square abacus See also Ionic, composite (sense 4), Corinthian, Tuscan
3.
(sometimes not capital) rustic
noun
4.
one of four chief dialects of Ancient Greek, spoken chiefly in the Peloponnese Compare Aeolic, Arcadic, Ionic See also Attic (sense 3)
5.
any rural dialect, esp that spoken in the northeast of Scotland
Word Origin and History for Doric
adj.

1560s, see Dorian; in reference to the architectural order, 1610s. The Doric dialect in ancient Greek theater was broad and rustic, hence it has been applied in English to northern and Scots dialects (1837).

Doric in Culture

Doric definition


One of the three main styles of Greek architecture (the others are Corinthian and Ionic). The Doric column is heavy and fluted; its capital is plain.