antiquity

See also: Antiquity

English

Etymology

From Middle English antiquytee, a borrowing from Old French antiquité, from Latin antiquitas, from antiquus; see antique, antic. Compare with French antiquité.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ænˈtɪk.kwɪ.ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ænˈtɪk.kwə.ti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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.
   • That such pillars were raised by Seth all antiquity has avowed. —Sir W. Raleigh.
3. (obsolete) An old gentleman.
   • You are a shrewd antiquity, neighbor Clench. —B. Jonson.
4. (historical) 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. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     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

• Antiquity
• classical antiquity
• Late Antiquity

Related terms

• ancient
• antic
• antiquary
• antique

• antiquarian
• antiquated
• antiquitous

Translations

ancient times

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: древност (bg) (drevnost), античност (bg) (antičnost)
• Catalan: antiguitat f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 古代 (zh) (gǔdài)

• Czech: antika f
• 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
• Greek: αρχαιότητα (el) f (archaiótita)
• 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
• 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
• Spanish: antigüedad (es) f
• Swedish: antiken (sv) c, forntid (sv) c

the ancients

• Czech: antika 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

relic or monument of ancient times

• Catalan: antiguitat f
• French: antiquité (fr) f
• Hungarian: antikvitás (hu), régiség (hu)

• Portuguese: antiguidade (pt) f
• Swedish: antikvitet (sv) c

Further reading

• antiquity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• antiquity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.