ancient Hear it!

ancient1 definition

an·cient (ān′c̸hənt, -s̸hənt)

adjective

  1. of times long past; belonging to the early history of the world, esp. before the end of the Western Roman Empire ( 476)
  2. having existed a long time; very old
  3. old-fashioned; antiquated
  4. Archaic having the wisdom, dignity, etc. of age; venerable

Etymology: ME auncien < OFr ancien < VL *anteanus < L ante, before: -t by infl. of -ent

noun

  1. a person who lived in ancient times
  2. an aged person

Related Forms:

ancient Idioms

the ancients

  1. the people who lived in ancient times
  2. the ancient or classical writers and artists, esp. of Greco-Roman times
ancient2 definition

an·cient (ān′c̸hənt, -s̸hənt)

noun

  1. an ensign, or flag
  2. a person carrying an ensign

Etymology: confusion of ensign with earlier ancien, ancient

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.
Related Discussions (2)
TopicRepliesLatest Post
Sarissa (Ancient Weapon)44 years ago
Ancient165 years ago

Browse Forums