(usually initial capital letter) an amalgam of Greek dialects, chiefly Attic and Ionic, that replaced the Classical Greek dialects in the Hellenistic period and flourished under the Roman Empire.
2.
a lingua franca.
Origin
1910-15; < Greekkoinḗ (diálektos) common (dialect); see ceno-2
British Dictionary definitions for koine
koine
/ˈkɔɪniː/
noun
1.
a common language among speakers of different languages; lingua franca
Word Origin
from Greek koinē dialektos common language
Koine
/ˈkɔɪniː/
noun
1.
(sometimes not capital) the Koine, the Ancient Greek dialect that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely used throughout the E Mediterranean area in Roman times
Word Origin and History for koine
n.
common literary dialect of Greek in Roman and early medieval period, 1903, from feminine singular of Greek koinos "common, ordinary" (see coeno-). Used earlier as a Greek word in English.