ancient
English
/ˈeɪn.ʃənt/
adj
Definitions
- Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old.
- Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.
- (history) Relating to antiquity as a primarily European historical period; the time before the Middle Ages.
- (obsolete) Experienced; versed.
- (obsolete) Former; sometime.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English auncyen borrowed from Old French ancien (old) derived from Latin ante (before, in front of, in front, forward, preposition and prefix, beforehand, in advance).
Origin
Latin
ante
Gloss
before, in front of, in front, forward, preposition and prefix, beforehand, in advance
Concept
Semantic Field
Time
Ontological Category
Other
Kanji
前
Emoji
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- a.m. English
- anciency English
- anciently English
- ancientness English
- ancientry English
- ante English
- ante litteram English
- ante- English
- antependium English
- anterior English
- antroversion English
- nonancient English
- *antaneus Latin
- *anteanus Latin
- *antius Latin
- ante Latin
- vertere Latin
- ante Italian
- ante litteram Italian
- anti- Italian
- anziano Italian
- avanti Italian
- ancien French
- ancienneté French
- ante Spanish, Castilian
- *h₂énti Proto-Indo-European
- perante Portuguese
- auncyen Middle English
- ancien Old French
- antaŭ Esperanto
- diante Galician
- perante Galician
- anciena Ido
- ancien Norman
- ancien Middle French
- antes Old Portuguese
- entẽado Old Portuguese
- ancian Occitan
- ante Asturian
- antes Old Spanish
- antura Sicilian
- tannu Sicilian