archaic

[ ahr-key-ik ]

adjective

1. marked by the characteristics of an earlier period; antiquated:

   an archaic manner; an archaic notion.

2. (of a linguistic form) commonly used in an earlier time but rare in present-day usage except to suggest the older time, as in religious rituals or historical novels. Examples:

   thou; wast; methinks; forsooth.

3. forming the earliest stage; prior to full development:

   the archaic period of psychoanalytic research.

4. (often initial capital letter) pertaining to or designating the style of the fine arts, especially painting and sculpture, developed in Greece from the middle 7th to the early 5th century b.c., chiefly characterized by an increased emphasis on the human figure in action, naturalistic proportions and anatomical structure, simplicity of volumes, forms, or design, and the evolution of a definitive style for the narrative treatment of subject matter. Compare classical ( def 6 ), Hellenistic ( def 5 ).
5. primitive; ancient; old:

   an archaic form of animal life.

archaic

/ ɑːˈkeɪɪk /

adjective

1. belonging to or characteristic of a much earlier period; ancient
2. out of date; antiquated

   an archaic prison system

3. (of idiom, vocabulary, etc) characteristic of an earlier period of a language and not in ordinary use

Usage Note

Archaic is used as a label in this dictionary for terms and definitions that were current roughly as late as 1900 but are now employed only as conscious archaisms, as described and exemplified in definition 2 above. An archaic term is generally more recognizable, as when encountered in literature, than one labeled Obsolete.

Derived Forms

• arˈchaically, adverb

Other Words From

• ar·chai·cal·ly adverb
• pseudo·ar·chaic adjective
• pseudo·ar·chai·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of archaic¹

First recorded in 1825–35; from French archaïque, or directly from Greek archaïkós “antiquated, old-fashioned,” equivalent to archaî(os) “old” + -ikos adjective suffix; -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of archaic¹

C19: from French archaïque, from Greek arkhaïkos, from arkhaios ancient, from arkhē beginning, from arkhein to begin

Example Sentences

They don’t want the government involved in their relationship, or they believe the institution of marriage is archaic.

From Salon

This moment of reckoning with LGBTQ+ veterans is an opportunity for the Pentagon to rethink its archaic military discharge system.

From Los Angeles Times

Congress enacted this archaic law in 1873 as part of a fit of puritanical panic against women’s rights.

From Slate

Truth has returned to its pre-enlightenment meaning; or, as Merriam-Webster puts it, its archaic meaning: “Fidelity, constancy.”

From Slate

I can only be envious of the early fish and archaic crabs that might have seen Earth’s temporary band of spinning debris.

From Slate

Related Words

• ancient
• antiquated
• obsolete
• old-fashioned
• outmoded
• primitive