antique
pronunciation
How to pronounce antique in British English:
UK [ænˈtiːk]
How to pronounce antique in American English:
US [ænˈtiːk]
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- Noun:
- an elderly man
- any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity
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- Verb:
- shop for antiques
- give an antique appearance to
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- Adjective:
- made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age
- out of fashion
- belonging to or lasting from times long ago
Word Origin
- antique
- antique: [16] Originally, in Latin, antique was an adjectivized version of the adverb and preposition ‘before’: to ante ‘before’ was added the adjective suffix -īcus, to produce the adjective antīquus (somewhat later an exactly parallel formation, using the suffix -ānus rather than -īcus, produced the adjective which became English ancient).English acquired the word either via French antique or directly from Latin. To begin with, and until relatively recently, it meant simply ‘ancient’, or specifically ‘of the ancient world’; it was only towards the end of the 18th century that the modern sense ‘made long ago and therefore collectable’ began to become established. In Italian, antico (from Latin antīquus) was often applied to grotesque carvings found in ancient remains.It was borrowed into English in the 16th century as an adjective, antic, meaning ‘bizarre’, but also as a noun, usually used in the plural, in the sense ‘absurd behaviour’.=> ancient, antic
- antique (adj.)
- 1530s, "aged, venerable," from Middle French antique "old" (14c.), from Latin antiquus (later anticus) "ancient, former, of olden times; old, long in existence, aged; venerable; old-fashioned," from PIE *anti in sense of "before" (see ante) + *okw- "appearance" (see eye (n.)). Originally pronounced in English like its parallel antic, but French pronunciation and spelling were adopted from c. 1700.
- antique (n.)
- "an old and collectible thing," 1771, from antique (adj.).
- antique (v.)
- "to give an antique appearance to," 1896, from antique (adj.). Related: Antiqued; antiquing.
Example
- 1. Trading antique and collector cars keeps him busy .
- 2. Some of the furniture pieces were purchased from antique shops .
- 3. So , when is the best time to sell an antique ?
- 4. So does antique looking 1982 lafite served at super expensive restaurants .
- 5. Now the two antique dams are being dismantled-the largest and most ambitious undertaking of its kind in u.s. history .