Greco

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to the cultural, artistic, or historical elements associated with ancient Greece and its civilization
2. Pertaining to the influences or characteristics derived from Greek culture, especially in art, philosophy, or architecture
3. Describing anything related to Greek heritage, including language, customs, and traditions that have shaped Western civilization

Etymology: "Greco-" is a combining form, not a word that stands alone. It comes from Latin "Graecus," the adjective for things Greek, which in turn was borrowed into Greek usage in Latin sources as a name for the people of Greece. The Latin name itself probably derives from the Greek region of Graia or the Graeci tribe in Epirus, a detail scholars debate and that is not needed to understand the prefix. English took the element from Latin roots and Latin-based combining forms, and it is used in compounds such as "Greco-Roman," "Greco-Persian," and "Anglo-Greco." Its appearance as a prefix in English dates roughly to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when writers needed a way to join Greek and other national names in hyphenated terms. The sense given here, relating to influences derived from Greek culture in art, philosophy, or architecture, follows directly from that use: the prefix marks a connection to Greece without naming a single place or period.