archaic
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About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.ar·cha·ic
adjective \är-ˈkā-ik\Definition of ARCHAIC
1
: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses <an archaic word>
2
: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time : antiquated <archaic legal traditions>
3
capitalized : of or belonging to the early or formative phases of a culture or a period of artistic development; especially : of or belonging to the period leading up to the classical period of Greek culture
4
: surviving from an earlier period; specifically : typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage
5
capitalized : of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time
— ar·cha·i·cal·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
See Examples of ARCHAIC
- The company needs to update its archaic computer systems.
- <a man with some archaic notions about the proper sphere for women>
- The author is a bluestocking, with a weakness for etymology and archaic religious texts, her body of work lauded for revealing the sacred in the ordinary. —Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 21 Dec. 2008
- Europe's economic growth and productivity, Judt reminds us, for all the horror stories about archaic work regulations and inflexible labor markets, has remained impressive up to the current moment. —John T. McGreevy, Commonweal, 24 Mar. 2006
- The locals spoke a Slavish dialect so thick and archaic that it sounded as if they were chewing stale bread. —Bruce Sterling, Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 2005
- Between the upper limit of radiocarbon dating (about 50 ka) and the lower limit of radiogenic potassium dating (about 0.5 Ma) there used to exist a chronological lacuna that I call the Gap. This temporal range encompasses the transition of archaic humans into fully modern forms, so the lack of a reliable means of dating fossils from the Gap was disconcerting. —Ervan G. Garrison, Physics Today, October 2001
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Origin of ARCHAIC
French or Greek; French archaïque, from Greek archaïkos, from archaios
First Known Use: 1832
Related to ARCHAIC
- Synonyms
- antiquated, obsolete, dated, démodé, demoded, fossilized, kaput (also kaputt), medieval (also mediaeval), moribund, mossy, moth-eaten, neolithic, Noachian, outdated, outmoded, out-of-date, outworn, passé, prehistoric (also prehistorical), rusty, Stone Age, superannuated
See Synonym Discussion at old
Other History Terms
ar·cha·ic
adjective \är-ˈkā-ik\ (Medical Dictionary)Medical Definition of ARCHAIC
1
: typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage <archaic features of a fossil skull>
2
: having the characteristics of primitive humans and their animal forebears especially as represented in the unconscious and appearing in behavior as manifestations of the unconscious
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