ancient

an·cient ¹  (nshnt)

adj.

1. Of great age; very old.

2. Of or relating to times long past, especially those of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire (a.d. 476). See Synonyms at old.

3. Old-fashioned; antiquated.

4. Having the qualities associated with age, wisdom, or long use; venerable.

n.

1. A very old person.

2. A person who lived in times long past.

3. ancients

a. The peoples of the classical nations of antiquity.

b. The ancient Greek and Roman authors.

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[Middle English auncien, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *antenus : Latin ante, before; see ant- in Indo-European roots + -nus, adj. and n. suff.]

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ancient·ly adv.

ancient·ness n.

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an·cient ²  (nshnt)

n.

1. Archaic An ensign; a flag.

2. Obsolete A flag-bearer or lieutenant.

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[Alteration of ensign.]

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ancient¹

adj

1. dating from very long ago ancient ruins

2. very old; aged

3. (Historical Terms) of the far past, esp before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (476 ad) Compare medieval, modern

4. (Law) Law having existed since before the time of legal memory

n

1. (Historical Terms) (often plural) a member of a civilized nation in the ancient world, esp a Greek, Roman, or Hebrew

2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (often plural) one of the classical authors of Greek or Roman antiquity

3. Archaic an old man

[from Old French ancien, from Vulgar Latin anteanus (unattested), from Latin ante before]

ancientness  n

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ancient²

n Archaic

1. a flag or other banner; standard

2. a standard-bearer; ensign

[changed from ensign through the influence of ancient¹]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	ancient - a very old person                     antediluvian golden ager, old person, oldster, senior citizen - an elderly person
	2.	ancient - a person who lived in ancient times individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
Adj.	1.	ancient - belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire; "ancient history"; "ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians"; "ancient Greece" past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
	2.	ancient - very old; "an ancient mariner" old - (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age; "his mother is very old"; "a ripe old age"; "how old are you?"

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ancient

adjective

1. classical, old, former, past, early, bygone, primordial, primeval, olden They believed ancient Greece and Rome were vital sources of learning.

2. very old, early, aged, antique, obsolete, archaic, age-old, bygone, antiquated, hoary, olden, superannuated, antediluvian, timeworn, old as the hills ancient rites

3. old-fashioned, past, dated, outdated, obsolete, out of date, old-time, archaic, unfashionable, antiquated, outmoded, passé, musty, old hat, behind the times, fusty, superannuated, out of style, obsolescent, square (informal), cobwebby, démodé (French), out of the ark (informal), oldfangled, (old-)fogeyish He produced articles and stories on his ancient typewriter.
old-fashioned new, young, late, the new, recent, current, modern, fresh, novel, with it (informal), up-to-date, state-of-the-art, in vogue, modish, new-fashioned, du jour (French), newfangled, culty

Translations

ancient [ˈeɪnʃənt] ADJ

1. (= old, classical) → antiguo
ancient Greek → griego m antiguo
ancient history → historia f antigua
that's ancient history! → ¡eso pertenece a la historia!
in ancient days → en la antigüedad, hace muchísimo tiempo
ancient monument (Brit) → monumento m histórico
ancient Rome → la Roma antigua
remains of ancient times → restos mpl de la antigüedad

2. [person] → viejo, anciano; [clothing, object] → antiquísimo, de los tiempos de Maricastaña
we went in his ancient car → fuimos en su antiquísimo coche
he's getting pretty ancient → va para viejo OLD

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ancient [ˈeɪnʃənt] adj

(from Antiquity) [Greece, Greek, Egypt, Rome] → antique
ancient Greece → la Grèce antique

(= very old) [tradition, building, woodland] → ancien(ne) ancient monument

(= aged, antiquated) [person] → vieux*(vieille), vieil before masc noun beginning with a vowel or before mute h; [object, car] → antique
ancient history n

(Greek and Roman) → histoire f ancienne

(fig) → histoire f ancienne
That's ancient history! → C'est de l'histoire ancienne!
ancient monument n → monument m historique

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ancient

adj

→ alt; in ancient times → im Altertum; (Greek, Roman also) → in der Antike; ancient Rome → das alte Rom; the ancient Romans → die alten Römer; ancient monument (Brit) → historisches Denkmal, historische Stätte

(inf) person, clothes etc → uralt

n the ancients → die Völker or Menschen des Altertums or im Altertum; (= writers) → die Schriftsteller des Altertums

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ancient [ˈeɪnʃ/ənt] adj (old) (classical) → antico/a (fam) (person) → decrepito/a; (object) → vecchio/a come il cucco
ancient monument → monumento storico
ancient Rome → l'antica Roma

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ancient

adj ancient [ˈeinʃənt]

1 relating to times long ago, especially before the collapse of Rome ancient history. prehistories قَديم античен starověký, pradávný fortids-; oldtids- alt αρχαίος antiguo muistne, antiikne باستانی؛ کهن muinais- ancien עַתִיק, קָדוּם प्राचीन stari ókori kuno forn antico 古代の 먼 옛날의 senovės sens; antīks purba oud fortids-, oldtids- starożytny antigo antic древний; античный staroveký starodaven antički forntida โบราณกาล eski 古代的 античний اگلے زمانے کا ، پرانا cổ đại 古代的

2 very old an ancient sweater. antiek, oud عَتيق много стар starý, staromódní ældgammel; gammeldags uralt παμπάλαιος viejo igivana کهنه muinainen très vieux יָשַן מְאֹד @@@יָשַן מְאוֹד$$$ प्राचीन prastari ősi tua sekali ævagamall, mjög gamall vecchio とても古い 구식의 senas senlaicīgs lama oud eldgammel, gammeldags starodawny, antyczny velho foarte vechi старинный; допотопный staromódny zelo star prastari gammal เก่า çok eski 古老的 стародавній; старовинний قدیم ، دیرینہ cổ 古老的

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ancient → قديم starobylý oldtids- uralt αρχαίος antiguo muinainen ancien prastar antico 大昔の 고대의 antiek eldgammel starożytny antigo древний forntida โบราณ eski cổ xưa 远古的