The word koine has several meanings:

• Koiné, a Greek language that developed from an Attic dialect and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. It was used for the New Testament, the writings of the early Christian Church Fathers, and for all of Greek literature for about ten centuries. See: History of the Greek language.

• Lingua franca, a common language, used by people with different native languages.

• A local dialect or language that became commonly used in a wider area, after it lost its very specific local characteristics.