Grecque

Grecque is the feminine form of the French adjective grec, meaning Greek. In modern French, grecque primarily functions as an adjective describing things related to Greece or Greek culture, language, or people. It is used with feminine nouns, for example: culture grecque, langue grecque, cuisine grecque.

As a noun, une Grecque has occurred in older or literary usage to denote a Greek woman. In contemporary prose, it is considerably less common as a stand-alone noun, and writers more often use the masculine or feminine forms of the adjective with a noun or rely on context to identify nationality or origin.

Etymology traces grecque to the Latin Graecus, via Greek Graikos, with the feminine ending -que formed in French to agree with feminine nouns. The term has long been used in literature, philosophy, and scholarship to refer to things associated with ancient or modern Greece, including art, mythology, and cultural practices. In phrases such as une déesse grecque or poésie grecque, it functions as a conventional descriptor.

In scholarly and artistic contexts, grecque frequently appears in combinations that denote Greek-style or origin, such as architecture grecque or mythologie grecque, and it coexists with broader terms like grec or hellène when clarity about ancient versus modern Greece is desired. The feminine form aligns with standard French gender agreement, contrasting with the masculine grec for masculine nouns.

See also: Grec, Grecs, Grecques, Hellène, Greek culture.