relict Hear it!

relict definition

re·lict (ri likt′; for n. rel′ikt)

adjective

surviving the death of another; esp., widowed

Etymology: L relictus, pp. of relinquere: see relinquish

noun

  1. Etymology: LL relicta < L relictus

    Archaic a widow

  2. Etymology: < the adj.

    1. Ecol. a plant or animal species living on in isolation in a small local area as a survival from an earlier period or as a remnant of an almost extinct group
    2. Geol. a physical feature, mineral, structure, etc. remaining after other components have wasted away or been altered

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

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