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Classical

//ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l// adj, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.

    "... Mr. Greaves, who may be juſtly reckoned a Claſſical Author on this Subject."

  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to established principles in a discipline.

    "Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get; what you get is classical alpha-taxonomy which is, very largely and for sound reasons, in disrepute today."

  3. 3
    Describing Western music and musicians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
  4. 4
    Describing art music (rather than pop, jazz, blues, etc), especially when played using instruments of the orchestra. informal
  5. 5
    Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds.

    "He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college."

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  1. 6
    Knowledgeable or skilled in the classics; versed in the classics.

    "a classical scholar"

  2. 7
    Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined

    "classical dance"

  3. 8
    Pertaining to models of physical laws that do not take quantum or relativistic effects into account; Newtonian or Maxwellian.
Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to the first significant period of a civilization, culture, area of study, etc. wordnet
  2. 2
    of or pertaining to or characteristic of the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially their art, literature, or culture wordnet
  3. 3
    of or relating to music in the European tradition, such as symphonies and operas wordnet
  4. 4
    (physics) relating to or based on concepts that preceded the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics wordnet
  5. 5
    well-known and long-established in form or style wordnet
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  1. 6
    of or relating to the languages used by ancient standard authors wordnet
  2. 7
    of or relating to the study of the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    One that is classical in some way; for example, a classical economist. countable

    "Similarly, the new classicals never claimed to be Austrians, nor did they ever make the attempt to meet Austrian objections. Therefore, we cannot fault them for not using this methodology. Nevertheless, new classicals constantly preach […]"

  2. 2
    traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste wordnet
  3. 3
    Ellipsis of classical music. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
  4. 4
    Ellipsis of classical chess. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

    "When I want to have fun I play blitz. When I want to go deeper and work on improving my game, I play classical and I try to do it in tournament settings."

Etymology

Etymology 1

See classic § Etymology for history. By surface analysis, class + -ical or classic + -al or class + -ic + -al

Etymology 2

See classic § Etymology for history. By surface analysis, class + -ical or classic + -al or class + -ic + -al

See also for "classical"

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