Word Meanings - ANCIENT - Book Publishers vocabulary database

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,

Additional info about word: ANCIENT

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. He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then would he seem very grave and ancient. Holland. 5. Experienced; versed. Though was the youngest brother, yet he was the most ancient in the business of the realm. Berners. 6. Former; sometime. They mourned their ancient leader lost. Pope. Ancient demesne , 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 , 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. -- 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.

Possible synonyms: (Same meaning words of ANCIENT)

• Aged
• Old
• ancient
• antiquated
• elderly
• senile
• patriarchal
• primeval
• time-honored
• olden
• Antique
• Archaic
• ancestral
• Former
• Preceding
• antecedent
• previous
• prior
• earlier
• bygone
• anterior
• first-mentioned
• foregoing
• Immemorial
• Primitive
• archaic
• primordial
• timehonored
• remote
• pristine
• long-standing
• preceding
• obsolete
• senile antique

Related words: (words related to ANCIENT)

• PRIMORDIALLY
  At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.
• ANTERIORITY
  The state of being anterior or preceding in time or in situation; priority. Pope.
• ANTIQUATION
  The act of making antiquated, or the state of being antiquated. Beaumont.
• PRIMITIVENESS
  The quality or state of being primitive; conformity to primitive style or practice.
• PRIMEVALLY
  In a primeval manner; in or from the earliest times; originally. Darwin.
• ELDERLY
  Somewhat old; advanced beyond middle age; bordering on old age; as, elderly people.
• PRIORSHIP
  The state or office of prior; priorate.
• FORMERLY
  In time past, either in time immediately preceding or at any indefinite distance; of old; heretofore.
• PREVIOUSNESS
  The quality or state of being previous; priority or antecedence in time.
• PRECEDENTLY
  Beforehand; antecedently.
• OBSOLETENESS
  Indistinctness; want of development. (more info) 1. The state of being obsolete, or no longer used; a state of desuetude.
• ANTIQUATED
  Grown old. Hence: Bygone; obsolete; out of use; old-fashioned; as, an antiquated law. "Antiquated words." Dryden. Old Janet, for so he understood his antiquated attendant was denominated. Sir W. Scott. Syn. -- Ancient; old; antique; obsolete. See
• ANTECEDENT
  1. Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the Deluge; an antecedent cause. 2. Presumptive; as, an antecedent improbability. Syn. -- Prior; previous; foregoing.
• OBSOLETE
  Not very distinct; obscure; rudimental; imperfectly developed; abortive. Syn. -- Ancient; antiquated; old-fashioned; antique; old; disused; neglected. See Ancient. (more info) 1. No longer in use; gone into disuse; disused; neglected;
• FOREGO
  1. To quit; to relinquish; to leave. Stay at the third cup, or forego the place. Herbert. 2. To relinquish the enjoyment or advantage of; to give up; to resign; to renounce; -- said of a thing already enjoyed, or of one within reach,
• ANTIQUENESS
  The quality of being antique; an appearance of ancient origin and workmanship. We may discover something venerable in the antiqueness of the work. Addison.
• PRECEDENTED
  Having a precedent; authorized or sanctioned by an example of a like kind. Walpole.
• ARCHAICAL
  Archaic. -- Ar*cha"ic*al*ly, adv.
• PRIORITY
  1. The quality or state of being prior or antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as, priority of application. 2. Precedence; superior rank. Shak. Priority of debts, a superior claim to payment, or a claim to payment before others.
• PRECEDE
  1. To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything. "Harm precedes not sin." Milton. 2. To go before in place, rank, or importance. 3. To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; -- used with by or with before the
• DEFORMER
  One who deforms.
• ENCOLDEN
  To render cold.
• SUBPRIOR
  The vicegerent of a prior; a claustral officer who assists the prior.
• GOLDEN
  1. Made of gold; consisting of gold. 2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain. 3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently auspicious; as, golden opinions. Golden age. The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of
• VERD ANTIQUE
  A mottled-green serpentine marble. A green porphyry called oriental verd antique.
• POSTREMOTE
  More remote in subsequent time or order.
• YOLDEN
  Yielded.
• PREREMOTE
  More remote in previous time or prior order. In some cases two more links of causation may be introduced; one of them may be termed the preremote cause, the other the postremote effect. E. Darwin.