ancient
pronunciation
How to pronounce ancient in British English:
UK [ˈeɪnʃənt]
How to pronounce ancient in American English:
US [ˈeɪnʃənt]
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- Adjective:
- belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire
- very old
Word Origin
- ancient
- ancient: [14] Like antique, ancient was originally, in Latin, an adjectivized version of the adverb and preposition ‘before’: to ante ‘before’ was added the adjective suffix -ānus, to produce the adjective *anteānus ‘going before’. In Old French this became ancien, and it passed into English via Anglo-Norman auncien. The final -t began to appear in the 15th century, by the same phonetic process as produced it in pageant and tyrant. The now archaic use of ancient as ‘standard, flag’ and as ‘standard-bearer’ (as most famously in Shakespeare’s ‘ancient Pistol’) arose from an alteration of ensign.=> antique
- ancient (adj.)
- mid-14c., auncyen, from Old French ancien "old, long-standing, ancient," from Vulgar Latin *anteanus, literally "from before," adjectivization of Latin ante "before, in front of, against" (from PIE *anti "against," locative singular of *ant- "front, forehead;" see ante). The parasitic -t dates from 15c. by influence of words in -ent. Specifically, in history, "belonging to the period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire" (and contrasted with medieval and modern). In English law, "from before the Norman Conquest." Ancient of Days is from Dan. vii:9. Related: Anciently.
- ancient (n.)
- "standard-bearer," 1550s, a corruption of ensign. Archaic, but preserved in Shakespeare's character Aunchient Pistoll in "Henry V."
Antonym
Example
- 1. Ancient cranes lift cement and oil drums .
- 2. The ancient egyptians were far smarter .
- 3. Many ancient civilisations piled up mountains of garbage .
- 4. The archaeological evidence for ancient cookery is equivocal .
- 5. The parsees are zoroastrians , the theological descendants of ancient persian fire-worshippers .