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ancient - 9 dictionary results

an⋅cient

1  [eyn-shuhnt]
Use ancient in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or in time long past, esp. before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d. 476: ancient history.
2. dating from a remote period; of great age: ancient rocks; ancient trees.
3. very old; aged: an ancient folk tale.
4. being old in wisdom and experience; venerable.
5. old-fashioned or antique.
–noun
6. a person who lived in ancient times.
7. one of the classical writers of antiquity.
8. a very old or aged person, esp. if venerable or patriarchal.
9. ancients,
a. the civilized peoples, nations, or cultures of antiquity, as the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and Egyptians (usually prec. by the).
b. the writers, artists, and philosophers of ancient times, esp. those of Greece and Rome.
Origin:
1300–50; ME auncien < AF; OF ancien < VL *antiānus, equiv. to L ante(ā) before (see ante- ) + -ānus -an; late ME forms with -t- developed by confusion with the prp. ending -nt (see -ent )

Related forms:
an⋅cient⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2, 3. Ancient, antiquated, antique, old-fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom. Antiquated connotes something too old or no longer useful: an antiquated building. Antique suggests a curious or pleasing quality in something old: antique furniture. Old-fashioned may disparage something as being out of date or may approve something old as being superior: an old-fashioned hat; old-fashioned courtesy.

Antonyms:
2, 3. new, modern.

an⋅cient

2  [eyn-shuhnt]
–noun Obsolete.
1. the bearer of a flag.
2. a flag, banner, or standard; ensign.
Origin:
1545–55; var. of ensign by confusion with ancient 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·cient 1   (ān'shənt)   
adj.  
  1. Of great age; very old.
  2. Of or relating to times long past, especially those of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire (A.D. 476). See Synonyms at old.
  3. Old-fashioned; antiquated.
  4. Having the qualities associated with age, wisdom, or long use; venerable.
n.  
  1. A very old person.
  2. A person who lived in times long past.
  3. ancients
    1. The peoples of the classical nations of antiquity.
    2. The ancient Greek and Roman authors.

[Middle English auncien, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *anteānus : Latin ante, before; see ant- in Indo-European roots + -ānus, adj. and n. suff.]
an'cient·ly adv., an'cient·ness n.
an·cient 2   (ān'shənt)   
n.  
  1. Archaic An ensign; a flag.
  2. Obsolete A flag-bearer or lieutenant.

[Alteration of ensign.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ancient

An"cient\, a. [OE. auncien, F. ancien, LL. antianus, fr. L. ante before. See Ante-, pref.]

1. Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; belonging to times long past; specifically applied to the times before the fall of the Roman empire; -- opposed to modern; as, ancient authors, literature, history; ancient days.

Witness those ancient empires of the earth. --Milton.

Gildas Albanius . . . much ancienter than his namesake surnamed the Wise. --Fuller.

2. Old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle. "Our ancient bickerings." --Shak.

Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set. --Prov. xxii. 28.

An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for quarters. --Scott.

3. Known for a long time, or from early times; -- opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent.

A friend, perhaps, or an ancient acquaintance. --Barrow.

4. Dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable. [Archaic]

He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then would he seem very grave and ancient. --Holland.

5. Experienced; versed. [Obs.]

Though [he] was the youngest brother, yet he was the most ancient in the business of the realm. --Berners.

6. Former; sometime. [Obs.]

They mourned their ancient leader lost. --Pope.

Ancient demesne (Eng. Law), a tenure by which all manors belonging to the crown, in the reign of William the Conqueror, were held. The numbers, names, etc., of these were all entered in a book called Domesday Book.

Ancient lights (Law), windows and other openings which have been enjoined without molestation for more than twenty years. In England, and in some of the United States, they acquire a prescriptive right.

Syn: Old; primitive; pristine; antique; antiquated; old-fashioned; obsolete.

Usage: Ancient, Antiquated, Obsolete, Antique, Antic, Old. -- Ancient is opposed to modern, and has antiquity; as, an ancient family, ancient landmarks, ancient institutions, systems of thought, etc. Antiquated describes that which has gone out of use or fashion; as, antiquated furniture, antiquated laws, rules, etc. Obsolete is commonly used, instead of antiquated, in reference to language, customs, etc.; as, an obsolete word or phrase, an obsolete expression. Antique is applied, in present usage, either to that which has come down from the ancients; as, an antique cameo, bust, etc.; or to that which is made to imitate some ancient work of art; as, an antique temple. In the days of Shakespeare, antique was often used for ancient; as, "an antique song," "an antique Roman;" and hence, from singularity often attached to what is ancient, it was used in the sense of grotesque; as, "an oak whose antique root peeps out; " and hence came our present word antic, denoting grotesque or ridiculous. We usually apply both ancient and old to things subject to gradual decay. We say, an old man, an ancient record; but never, the old stars, an old river or mountain. In general, however, ancient is opposed to modern, and old to new, fresh, or recent. When we speak of a thing that existed formerly, which has ceased to exist, we commonly use ancient; as, ancient republics, ancient heroes; and not old republics, old heroes. But when the thing which began or existed in former times is still in existence, we use either ancient or old; as, ancient statues or paintings, or old statues or paintings; ancient authors, or old authors, meaning books.

Ancient

An"cient\, n. 1. pl. Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns.

2. An aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence.

The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof. --Isa. iii. 14.

3. A senior; an elder; a predecessor. [Obs.]

Junius and Andronicus . . . in Christianity . . . were his ancients. --Hooker.

4. pl. (Eng. Law) One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.

Council of Ancients (French Hist.), one of the two assemblies composing the legislative bodies in 1795. --Brande.

Ancient

An"cient\, n. [Corrupted from ensign.]

1. An ensign or flag. [Obs.]

More dishonorable ragged than an old-faced ancient. --Shak.

2. The bearer of a flag; an ensign. [Obs.]

This is Othello's ancient, as I take it. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ancient
Spanish: antiguo,
German: alt,
Japanese: 古代の
More Translations »

ancient 
1366, auncyen, from O.Fr. ancien, from V.L. *anteanus, adjectivization of L. ante "before, in front of, against," from PIE *anti "against," locative singular of *ant- "front, forehead." With parasitic -t- 15c. by influence of words in -ent. Specifically, in history, "belonging to the period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire" (and contrasted with medieval and modern). In Eng. law, "from before the Norman Conquest." Ancient of Days is from Dan. vii.9. Meaning "standard-bearer" (1554, archaic, but preserved in Shakespeare's character Aunchient Pistoll in "Henry V") is a corruption of ensign (1554).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: an·cient
Function: adjective
: existing from a long past date; specifically : having had an uninterrupted existence of 20 to 30 or more years
NOTE: Things and esp. documents that are ancient benefit from a presumption that they are valid even though proof of their validity may be unavailable due to lapse of memory, absence of witnesses, or loss of documents.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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