ancient
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
ancient
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
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
[1913 Webster]
Witness those ancient empires of the earth.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Gildas Albanius . . . much ancienter than his
namesake surnamed the Wise. --Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers
have set. --Prov. xxii.
28.
[1913 Webster]
An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for
quarters. --Scott.
[1913 Webster]
3. Known for a long time, or from early times; -- opposed to
{recent} or {new}; as, the ancient continent.
[1913 Webster]
A friend, perhaps, or an ancient acquaintance.
--Barrow.
[1913 Webster]
4. Dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable.
[Archaic]
[1913 Webster]
He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then
would he seem very grave and ancient. --Holland.
[1913 Webster]
5. Experienced; versed. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Though [he] was the youngest brother, yet he was the
most ancient in the business of the realm.
--Berners.
[1913 Webster]
6. Former; sometime. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
They mourned their ancient leader lost. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ancient \An"cient\, n.
1. pl. Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the
{moderns}.
[1913 Webster]
2. An aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a
person of influence.
[1913 Webster]
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients
of his people, and the princes thereof. --Isa. iii.
14.
[1913 Webster]
3. A senior; an elder; a predecessor. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Junius and Andronicus . . . in Christianity . . .
were his ancients. --Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
4. pl. (Eng. Law) One of the senior members of the Inns of
Court or of Chancery.
[1913 Webster]
{Council of Ancients} (French Hist.), one of the two
assemblies composing the legislative bodies in 1795.
--Brande.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ancient \An"cient\, n. [Corrupted from ensign.]
1. An ensign or flag. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
More dishonorable ragged than an old-faced ancient.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. The bearer of a flag; an ensign. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
This is Othello's ancient, as I take it. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
151 Moby Thesaurus words for "ancient":
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
[email protected]