Adjacent Words

Ancient definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AN'CIENT, a. Usually pronounced most anomalously, ancient. The pronunciation of the first vowel ought to accord with that is antiquity, anger, anchor, etc. [Lt. ante, antiquus.] We usually apply ancient and old to things subject to gradual decay. We say, an old man, an ancient record; but never the old sun, old stars, an old river or mountain.
1. Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; as, ancient authors, ancient days. Old, says Johnson, relates to the duration of the thing itself, as an old coat; and ancient to time in general, as an ancient dress. But this distinction is not always observed. We say, in old times, as well as ancient times; old customs, etc. 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 as 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. But in these examples ancient seems the most correct, or best authorized. Some persons apply ancient to men advanced in years still living; but this use is not common in modern practice, though found in scripture.
With the ancient is wisdom. Job.
2. Old; that has been of long duration; as, an ancient forest; an ancient city.
3. Known from ancient times; as the ancient continent, opposed to the new continent.
AN'CIENT, n. Generally used in the plural, ancients. Those who lived in former ages, opposed to moderns.
1. In scripture, very old men. Also, governors, rulers, political and ecclesiastical.
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people. Isaiah 3. Jeremiah 19.
God is called the Ancient of days from his eternal existence. Daniel 7.
Hooker uses the word for seniors, "They were his ancients," but the use is not authorized.
2. Ancient is also used for a flag or streamer, in a ship of war; and for an ensign or the bearer of a flag, as in Shakespeare. Cowel supposed the word, when used for a flag, to be a corruption of end-sheet, a flag at the stern. It is probably the Fr. enseigne.
Ancient demain, in English Law, is 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 Domes-day Book.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire; "ancient history"; "ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians"; "ancient Greece"
2: very old; "an ancient mariner" n
1: a very old person [syn: ancient, antediluvian]
2: a person who lived in ancient times

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English ancien, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *anteanus, from Latin ante before — more at ante- Date: 14th century 1. having had an existence of many years 2. of or relating to a remote period, to a time early in history, or to those living in such a period or time; especially of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known civilizations and extending to the fall of the western Roman Empire in A.D. 476 3. having the qualities of age or long existence: as a. venerable b. old-fashioned, antique Synonyms: see old • ancientness noun II. noun Date: 1502 1. an aged living being <a penniless ancient> 2. a person who lived in ancient times: a. plural the civilized people of antiquity; especially those of the classical nations b. one of the classical authors <Plutarch and other ancients> 3. an ancient coin III. noun Etymology: alteration of ensign Date: 1554 1. archaic ensign, standard, flag 2. obsolete the bearer of an ensign

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj. & n. --adj. 1 of long ago. 2 having lived or existed long. --n. archaic an old man. Phrases and idioms: ancient history 1 the history of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean area and the Near East before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. 2 something already long familiar. ancient lights a window that a neighbour may not deprive of light by building. ancient monument Brit. an old building etc. preserved usu. under Government control. the ancients the people of ancient times, esp. the Greeks and Romans. Derivatives: ancientness n. Etymology: ME f. AF auncien f. OF ancien, ult. f. L ante before 2. n. archaic = ENSIGN. Etymology: corrupt. of form ensyne etc. by assoc. with ancien = ANCIENT(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Ancient means belonging to the distant past, especially to the period in history before the end of the Roman Empire. They believed ancient Greece and Rome were vital sources of learning. ADJ: ADJ n • anciently Salisbury Plain was known anciently as Ellendune. ADV 2. Ancient means very old, or having existed for a long time. ...ancient Jewish tradition. ADJ: usu ADJ n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

an'-shent: This word renders several Hebrew words:

(1) qedhem, which denotes "beforetime," "yore"; generally the remote past (compare De 33:15, "ancient mountains"; Jud 5:21, Kishon, the "ancient river"; Isa 19:11 "ancient kings").

(2) zaqen, "old" in years. Whereas the King James Version generally renders the word by "old" (or "elders" when the plural form is found) in six cases "ancient" is used and "ancients" in nine cases. See ANCIENTS.

(3) `olam, which denotes "long duration" --past or future. In regard to the past it suggests remote antiquity. The connotation may be discovered in such expressions as: "the years of ancient times" (Ps 77:5); "ancient land-mark" or "paths" (Pr 22:28; Jer 18:15); "ancient people" or "nation" (Isa 44:7; Jer 5:15); "ancient high places" (Eze 36:2).

(4) `attiq. This word--really Aramaic--comes from a stem which means "to advance," i.e. in age; hence old, aged (1Ch 3:22).

(5) yashish, literally, "weak," "impotent," hence decrepit aged; a rare and poetical word, and found only in Job. It is rendered "ancient" only in one instance (Job 12:12 the King James Version).

Thomas Lewis

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Old, primitive, pristine, of eld, of old time, not modern. See olden. 2. Of great age, of long duration. 3. Antiquated, antique, archaic, obsolete, bygone, old-fashioned, out of fashion, out of date, gone by.

Moby Thesaurus

Bronze Age man, Hominidae, Iron Age man, Stone Age man, abiding, aboriginal, aborigine, advanced, advanced in life, advanced in years, age-long, age-old, aged, ageing, ageless, along in years, antediluvian, anthropoid, antiquated, antique, ape-man, archaic, auld, autochthon, better, brass hat, bushman, bygone, cave dweller, caveman, chronic, constant, continuing, dateless, diuturnal, doddering, doting, durable, earlier, early, elder, elderly, enduring, erstwhile, evergreen, fading, fore, forgotten, former, fossil, fossil man, fossilized, golden-ager, gray, gray with age, gray-haired, gray-headed, grey, grown old, hardy, higher-up, hoar, hoary, hominid, humanoid, immemorial, immutable, intransient, inveterate, lasting, late, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, long-term, longeval, longevous, macrobiotic, man of old, missing link, obsolescent, obsolete, of long duration, of long standing, of old, of yore, old, old as Methuselah, old as history, old as time, old-fashioned, old-time, old-timer, olden, once, onetime, past, patriarchal, perdurable, perduring, perennial, permanent, perpetual, persistent, persisting, preadamite, prehistoric, prehistoric man, prehuman, previous, primal, primate, primeval, primitive, primordial, prior, pristine, protohuman, quondam, recent, remaining, remote, sempervirent, senectuous, senior, senior citizen, sinking, sometime, stable, staying, steadfast, superannuated, then, timeless, timeworn, tough, traditional, troglodyte, unfading, venerable, vital, waning, wasting, white, white with age, white-bearded, white-crowned, white-haired, wrinkled, wrinkly, years old