antiquity

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See also: Antiquity

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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.

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