Link Centre Dictionary

ancient

an·cient

UK/ˈeɪn.ʃənt/ US/ˈeɪn.t͡ʃənt/ common uk

adjective

1.

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”
Similar
2.

very old

  • “an ancient mariner”
Similar

Origin

From Middle English auncyen, from Old French ancien, from Vulgar Latin *anteānus, composed of Latin ante (“before”) + -ānus (adjective-forming suffix). The non-etymological excrescent /t/ is by analogy with the common ending -ent.

Phrases

  • ancient alien
  • ancient astronaut
  • ancient document
  • Ancient Egypt
  • ancient grain
  • Ancient Greece
  • Ancient Greek
  • ancient history

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.