archaic Hear it!

archaic definition

ar·chaic (är kā′ik)

adjective

  1. belonging to an earlier period; ancient
  2. antiquated; old-fashioned
  3. that has ceased to be used except for special purposes, as in poetry, church ritual, etc. thou is an archaic form of you

Etymology: Gr archaikos < archaios, old, ancient < archein, begin

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

archaic Synonyms

archaic

modif.

antiquated, old, obsolete; see old 3, old-fashioned. See syn. study atold.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

archaic Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • somewhat: Meanwhile the Dance class trawlers, with their heavier and somewhat archaic 4 in, guns, occupied themselves with the convoy itself.

Modifies a noun

  • diction: The decision to use an archaic diction might thus be thought a central part of Spenser's particularly Protestant poetics.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: In today's electronic world all this would seem archaic.

Preposition: in

  • comparison: The audio makes the video look rather archaic in comparison.
archaic usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"archaic." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/archaic>

APA Style

archaic. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/archaic

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment