ancient

¹

[ eyn-shuhnt ]

adjective

1. of or in time long past, especially before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d. 476:

   ancient history.

   Synonyms: early

   Antonyms: recent

2. dating from a remote period; of great age: ancient trees.

   ancient rocks;

   ancient trees.

   Synonyms: immemorial, age-old

   Antonyms: recent, modern, new

3. very old; aged:

   She's fifteen, which is ancient for a dog that size.

4. being old in wisdom and experience; venerable.
5. old-fashioned or antique.

   Synonyms: vintage, retro, old-time, old-fashioned, olden, antique

noun

1. a person who lived in ancient times.
2. one of the classical writers of antiquity.
3. a very old or aged person, especially if venerable or patriarchal.
4. ancients,
   1. Usually the ancients. the civilized peoples, nations, or cultures of antiquity, as the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and Egyptians.
   2. the writers, artists, and philosophers of ancient times, especially those of Greece and Rome.

ancient

²

[ eyn-shuhnt ]

noun

, Obsolete.

1. the bearer of a flag.
2. a flag, banner, or standard; ensign.

ancient

¹

/ ˈeɪnʃənt /

noun

1. a flag or other banner; standard
2. a standard-bearer; ensign

ancient

²

/ ˈeɪnʃənt /

adjective

1. dating from very long ago

   ancient ruins

2. very old; aged
3. of the far past, esp before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (476 ad ) Compare medieval modern
4. law having existed since before the time of legal memory

noun

1. often plural a member of a civilized nation in the ancient world, esp a Greek, Roman, or Hebrew
2. often plural one of the classical authors of Greek or Roman antiquity
3. archaic.
   an old man

Derived Forms

• ˈancientness, noun

Other Words From

• an·cient·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancient¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English auncien, from Anglo-French; Old French ancien, from unattested Vulgar Latin antiānus, equivalent to Latin ante(ā) “before”+ -ānus adjective suffix; late Middle English forms with -t- developed by confusion with the present participle ending -nt; -an, ante-, -ent

Origin of ancient²

First recorded in 1550–60; variant of ensign by confusion with ancient ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancient¹

C16: changed from ensign through the influence of ancient ¹

Origin of ancient²

C14: from Old French ancien, from Vulgar Latin anteanus (unattested), from Latin ante before

Synonym Study

Ancient, antiquated, antique, old-fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom. Antiquated connotes something too old or no longer useful: an antiquated building. Antique suggests a curious or pleasing quality in something old: antique furniture. Old-fashioned may disparage something as being out of date or may approve something old as being superior: an old-fashioned hat; old-fashioned courtesy.

Example Sentences

"Studying ancient DNA lets us reach back in time, tracking evolutionary changes directly in historical populations," said lead researcher Vagheesh Narasimhan, assistant professor of integrative biology and statistics and data sciences at UT Austin.

From Science Daily

More than 3 billion years ago, on an Earth entirely covered with water, photosynthesis first evolved in little ancient bacteria.

From Science Daily

Another Islamist militant leader who destroyed ancient shrines in Timbuktu was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2016.

From BBC

"This is consistent ith the tradition of many ancient cultures to capture natural sounds in musical instruments, and could explain the ritual dimension of the death whistle sound for mimicking mythological entities," explains Frühholz.

From Science Daily

It swings from one extreme to another, matching Coppola’s grandiose gestures toward futurism, ancient history, symbolism, theatrical performance — and, at the heart of it all, love.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• age-old
• antique
• archaic
• hoary
• old-fashioned
• timeworn
• venerable