relic

[ rel-ik ]

noun

1. a surviving memorial of something past.
2. an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past:

   a museum of historic relics.

3. a surviving trace of something:

   a custom that is a relic of paganism.

4. relics,
   1. remaining parts or fragments.
   2. the remains of a deceased person.
5. something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.
6. Ecclesiastical. (especially in the Roman Catholic and Greek churches) the body, a part of the body, or some personal memorial of a saint, martyr, or other sacred person, preserved as worthy of veneration.
7. a once widespread linguistic form that survives in a limited area but is otherwise obsolete.

relic

/ ˈrɛlɪk /

noun

1. something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom
2. something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake
3. usually plural a remaining part or fragment
4. RC Church Eastern Churches part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy
5. informal.
   an old or old-fashioned person or thing
6. archaic.
   plural the remains of a dead person; corpse
7. ecology a less common term for relict

Other Words From

• relic·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of relic¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French relique < Latin reliquiae (plural) remains (> Old English reliquias ), equivalent to reliqu ( us ) remaining + -iae plural noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of relic¹

C13: from Old French relique , from Latin reliquiae remains, from relinquere to leave behind, relinquish

Example Sentences

Will Amorim want to keep a relic of the Ten Hag regime, albeit a United legend, or will he maintain his usual tight-knit group of backroom staff?

From BBC

Viewed from the overheated ideological landscape of America in 2024, Britain’s “Irish troubles” may look like an irrelevant, if faintly romantic, relic of the past: indistinguishable tribes of white people fighting over a rain-soaked island on the Atlantic fringe of Europe.

From Salon

Elections will be regarded as a relic of the bad old days since they were always stolen by those who didn’t deserve power.

From Salon

A relic of the past, a giant disco ball, was suspended over the stage near the $1,400 seats, which weren’t seats at all but lavender couches.

From Los Angeles Times

But physical, face-to-face direct selling of merchandise is increasingly a relic, and the entire direct selling industry is tiny.

From Slate

Related Words

• antique
• antiquity
• artifact
• curio
• evidence
• fragment
• keepsake
• memento
• monument
• remains
• remnant
• souvenir