antiquity
pronunciation
How to pronounce antiquity in British English: UK [ænˈtɪkwəti]
How to pronounce antiquity in American English: US [ænˈtɪkwəti]
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- Noun:
- the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe
- extreme oldness
- an artifact surviving from the past
Word Origin
- antiquity (n.)
- late 14c., "olden times," from Old French antiquitet (11c.; Modern French antiquité) "olden times; great age; old age," from Latin antiquitatem (nominative antiquitas) "ancient times, antiquity, venerableness," noun of quality from antiquus (see antique (adj.)). Specific reference to ancient Greece and Rome is from mid-15c.; meaning "quality of being old" is from about the same time. Antiquities "relics of ancient days" is from 1510s.
Example
- 1. Modern lifestyles , and exposure to many more carcinogens than in antiquity .
- 2. Gastropods were the source of one of the rarest dyes in antiquity .
- 3. The origins of chinese erotica and pornography can be traced way back into antiquity .
- 4. An evidence of this defect and this powerlessness of the old gods is found even in the religious beliefs of antiquity .
- 5. In antiquity , their bulk also allowed them to become mobile fortresses , capable of carrying soldiers and archers on their backs .