Antiquity
name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Ancient times; faraway history; former ages. countable, uncountable
"Cicero was an eloquent orator of antiquity."
- 2 an artifact surviving from the past wordnet
- 3 The people of ancient times. countable, uncountable
"That such pillars were raised by Seth all antiquity has avowed."
- 4 extreme oldness wordnet
- 5 An old gentleman. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"You are a shrewd antiquity, neighbor Clench."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe wordnet
- 7 The historical period preceding the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500), primarily relating to European history. countable, uncountable
- 8 A relic or monument of ancient times, such as a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution. countable, uncountable
- 9 The state of being ancient or of ancient lineage. countable, uncountable
"He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts."
- 1 The period of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Example
More examples"The cicada has represented insouciance since antiquity."
Etymology
From Middle English antiquyte, antiquite, antiquytee, a borrowing from Old French antiquité, antiquitet, from Latin antiquitas, from antiquus. Equivalent to antique + -ity. See antique, antic. Compare with French antiquité.
Related phrases
More for "antiquity"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.