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classical - 3 dictionary results
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clas⋅si⋅cal

  [klas-i-kuhl]
Use classical in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Greek and Roman antiquity: classical literature; classical languages.
2. conforming to ancient Greek and Roman models in literature or art, or to later systems modeled upon them.
3. marked by classicism: classical simplicity.
4. Music.
a. of, pertaining to, or constituting the formally and artistically more sophisticated and enduring types of music, as distinguished from popular and folk music and jazz. Classical music includes symphonies, operas, sonatas, song cycles, and lieder.
b. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or adhering to the well-ordered, chiefly homophonic musical style of the latter half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries: Haydn and Mozart are classical composers.
5. Architecture.
a. noting or pertaining to the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, esp. the religious and public architecture, characterized by the employment of orders. Compare order (def. 27b).
b. noting or pertaining to any of several styles of architecture closely imitating the architecture of ancient Greece or Rome; neoclassic.
c. noting or pertaining to architectural details or motifs adapted from ancient Greek or Roman models.
d. (of an architectural design) simple, reposeful, well-proportioned, or symmetrical in a manner suggesting the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
6. (often initial capital letter) pertaining to or designating the style of fine arts, esp. painting and sculpture, developed in Greece during the 5th and 4th centuries b.c., chiefly characterized by balanced composition, the separation of figures from an architectural background, and the naturalistic rendering of anatomical details, spatial movement, and distribution of weight in a figure. Compare archaic (def. 4), Hellenistic (def. 5).
7. of or pertaining to a style of literature and art characterized by conformity to established treatments, taste, or critical standards, and by attention to form with the general effect of regularity, simplicity, balance, proportion, and controlled emotion (contrasted with romantic ).
8. pertaining to or versed in the ancient classics: a classical scholar.
9. relating to or teaching academic branches of knowledge, as the humanities, general sciences, etc., as distinguished from technical subjects.
10. (of a given field of knowledge) accepted as standard and authoritative, as distinguished from novel or experimental: classical physics.
11. classic (defs. 1–5, 8, 10).
12. Ecclesiastical. pertaining to a classis.
–noun
13. classical music: a jazz pianist who studied classical for years.
Origin:
1580–90; classic + -al 1

Related forms:
clas⋅si⋅cal⋅i⋅ty, clas⋅si⋅cal⋅ness, noun
clas⋅si⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

clas⋅sic

  [klas-ik]
–adjective
1. of the first or highest quality, class, or rank: a classic piece of work.
2. serving as a standard, model, or guide: the classic method of teaching arithmetic.
3. of or pertaining to Greek and Roman antiquity, esp. with reference to literature and art.
4. modeled upon or imitating the style or thought of ancient Greece and Rome: The 17th and 18th centuries were obsessed with classic ideals.
5. of or adhering to an established set of artistic or scientific standards or methods: a classic example of mid-Victorian architecture.
6. basic; fundamental: the classic rules of warfare.
7. of enduring interest, quality, or style: a classic design; classic clothes.
8. of literary or historical renown: the classic haunts of famous writers.
9. traditional or typical: a classic comedy routine.
10. definitive: the classic reference work on ornithology.
11. of or pertaining to automobiles distinguished by elegant styling, outstanding engineering, and fine workmanship that were built between about 1925 and 1948.
–noun
12. an author or a literary work of the first rank, esp. one of demonstrably enduring quality.
13. an author or literary work of ancient Greece or Rome.
14. classics, the literature and languages of ancient Greece and Rome (often prec. by the).
15. an artist or artistic production considered a standard.
16. a work that is honored as definitive in its field: His handbook on mushrooms is a classic.
17. something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering: His reply was a classic.
18. an article, as of clothing, unchanging in style: Her suit was a simple classic.
19. a typical or traditional event, esp. one that is considered to be highly prestigious or the most important of its kind: The World Series is the fall classic of baseball.
20. Archaic. a classicist.
Also, classical (for defs. 1–5, 8, 10).

Origin:
1605–15; (< F classique) < L classicus belonging to a class, belonging to the first or highest class, equiv. to class(is) class + -icus -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To classical
clas·si·cal   (klās'ĭ-kəl)   
adj.  
    1. Of or relating to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially their art, architecture, and literature.
    2. Conforming to the artistic and literary models of ancient Greece and Rome.
    3. Versed in the classics: a classical scholar.
    4. Of or relating to European music during the latter half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries.
    5. Of or relating to music in the educated European tradition, such as symphony and opera, as opposed to popular or folk music.
    6. Standard and authoritative rather than new or experimental: classical methods of navigation.
    7. Well-known; classic: the classical argument between free trade and protectionism.
  2. Of or relating to the most artistically developed stage of a civilization: Chinese classical poetry.
  3. Music
    1. Of or relating to European music during the latter half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries.
    2. Of or relating to music in the educated European tradition, such as symphony and opera, as opposed to popular or folk music.
    3. Standard and authoritative rather than new or experimental: classical methods of navigation.
    4. Well-known; classic: the classical argument between free trade and protectionism.
  4. Of, relating to, or being a variety of a language that is epitomized by a prestigious body of literature.
    1. Standard and authoritative rather than new or experimental: classical methods of navigation.
    2. Well-known; classic: the classical argument between free trade and protectionism.
  6. Of or relating to physics that can be described without the use of quantum mechanics or relativity.
  7. Relating to or consisting of studies in the humanities and general sciences: a classical curriculum.
clas'si·cal'i·ty (-kāl'ĭ-tē), clas'si·cal·ness n., clas'si·cal·ly adv.
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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