antiquity

See also: Antiquity

English

Alternative forms

• antiquitie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English antiquyte, antiquite, antiquytee, a borrowing from Old French antiquité, antiquitet, from Latin antiquitas, from antiquus. Equivalent to antique +‎ -ity. See antique, antic. Compare with French antiquité.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ænˈtɪk.wɪ.ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ænˈtɪk.wə.ti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkwɪti

Noun

antiquity (countable and uncountable, plural antiquities)

1. Ancient times; faraway history; former ages.

   Cicero was an eloquent orator of antiquity.

2. The people of ancient times.
   • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):

     That such pillars were raised by Seth all antiquity has avowed.

3. (obsolete) An old gentleman.
   • 1633 (first performance), Ben Jonson, “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Works of Beniamin Jonson, […] (Third Folio), London: […] Thomas Hodgkin, for H[enry] Herringman, E. Brewster, T. Bassett, R[ichard] Chiswell, M. Wotton, G. Conyers, published 1692, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     You are a shrewd antiquity, neighbor Clench.

4. (history) The historical period preceding the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500), primarily relating to European history.
5. (often constructed as an uncountable plural) A relic or monument of ancient times, such as a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution.
6. The state of being ancient or of ancient lineage.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […] , the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.

Derived terms

• antiquitarian
• antiquitarianism
• antiquitary
• antiquitech
• antiquitist
• antiquitization
• antiquitize
• antiquitous
• Antiquity
• classical antiquity
• Late Antiquity
• preantiquity

 

Related terms

• ancient
• antic
• antiquarian
• antiquary
• antiquated
• antique

Translations

ancient times

• Arabic: تَارِيخ قَدِيم m (tārīḵ qadīm)
• Bulgarian: древност (bg) (drevnost), античност (bg) (antičnost)
• Catalan: antiguitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 古代 (zh) (gǔdài)

• Czech: antika (cs) f, starověk (cs) m
• Dutch: oudheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: antikveco, antikvo
• Ethiopian Sign Language: የድሮ ዘመነን
• Finnish: antiikki (fi)
• French: Antiquité (fr) f
• Galician: antigüidade (gl) f
• German: Antike (de) f, Altertum (de) n
• Greek: αρχαιότητα (el) f (archaiótita)

  Ancient: ἀρχαιότης f (arkhaiótēs)

• Hebrew: קֶדֶם (he) m (qédem)
• Hungarian: antikvitás (hu), ókor (hu)
• Ido: antiqueso (io)
• Italian: antichità (it) f
• Japanese: 昔 (ja) (むかし, mukashi), 古代 (ja) (こだい, kodai)
• Korean: 고대 (ko) (godae)
• Latin: antīquitās f
• Latvian: senatne f
• Luxembourgish: Antiquitéit f
• Maori: pāhake, whakapata, nehe, neherā, tua whakarere
• Middle English: antiquyte
• Polish: antyk (pl) m, starożytność (pl) f
• Portuguese: antiguidade (pt) f
• Romanian: antichitate (ro) f
• Russian: дре́вность (ru) f (drévnostʹ), старина́ (ru) f (stariná)
• Serbo-Croatian: antika (sh) f
• Slovak: starovek (sk) m
• Spanish: antigüedad (es) f
• Swedish: antiken (sv) c, forntid (sv) c
• Ukrainian: давнина́ (davnyná), старовина́ f (starovyná)

the ancients

• Czech: antika (cs) f
• French: Antiquité (fr) f
• Galician: antigüidade (gl) f
• Greek: αρχαιότητα (el) f (archaiótita), αρχαίοι (el) m pl (archaíoi)
• Hungarian: ókoriak
• Portuguese: antiguidade (pt) f
• Serbo-Croatian: antika (sh) f

old gentleman

historical

relic or monument of ancient times

• Catalan: antiguitat (ca) f
• French: antiquité (fr) f
• Galician: antigüidade (gl) f
• Hungarian: antikvitás (hu), régiség (hu)
• Portuguese: antiguidade (pt) f
• Swedish: antikvitet (sv) c

the historical period preceding the Middle Ages

• Polish: starożytność (pl) f

the state of being ancient or of ancient lineage

• Polish: antyczność f

Further reading

• “antiquity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “antiquity”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.