Coptic

American  

[kop-tik] / ˈkɒp tɪk /

noun

1. an Afroasiatic language of Egypt descended from ancient Egyptian, largely extinct as a spoken language since the 16th century but surviving as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Coptic or the Copts.

Coptic British  

/ ˈkɒptɪk /

noun

1. an Afro-Asiatic language, written in the Greek alphabet but descended from ancient Egyptian. It was extinct as a spoken language by about 1600 _ad but survives in the Coptic Church

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adjective

1. of or relating to this language

2. of or relating to the Copts

Etymology

Origin of Coptic

First recorded in 1670–80; Copt + -ic

Example Sentences

In the next gallery, a 15th-century Quran was displayed alongside a North African Torah and Coptic Christian Bible.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

There was a hymn sung in Greek by the Coptic Orthodox Diocesan Choir and a carol by the choir of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025

At the Marmina Coptic Orthodox church, shafts of dusty light shone through holes in a rooftop fresco of Jesus, punctured in the fighting.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024

In August 2022, a fire at a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Cairo killed 41 worshippers in what was one of Egypt’s deadliest fires in recent years.

From Washington Times • Oct. 2, 2023

Toward the end of the afternoon, they came upon a Coptic monastery.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho