antiquity
See also: Antiquity
English
Etymology
From Middle English antiquyte, antiquite, antiquytee, a borrowing from Old French antiquité, antiquitet, from Latin antiquitas, from antiquus; see antique, antic. Compare with French antiquité.
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file)
Noun
antiquity (countable and uncountable, plural antiquities)
- Ancient times; faraway history; former ages
- Cicero was an eloquent orator of antiquity.
- The people of ancient times.
- That such pillars were raised by Seth all antiquity has avowed. —Sir W. Raleigh.
- (obsolete) An old gentleman.
- You are a shrewd antiquity, neighbor Clench. —B. Jonson.
- (history) The historical period preceding the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500), primarily relating to European history.
- (often constructed as an uncountable plural) A relic or monument of ancient times, such as a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution.
- 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
Related terms
Translations
ancient times
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the ancients
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old gentleman
relic or monument of ancient times
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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.
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