Ancient

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/

Definitions

1. Very old, belonging to times long past, especially those of the early civilizations before the fall of the Roman Empire
2. Pertaining to a bygone era characterized by significant historical developments, particularly those of early cultures and civilizations
3. Relating to a time period far in the past, especially one that features early human societies and their cultural achievements

Etymology: Ancient carries a sound that was never in its Latin ancestor. Its root is the Latin "ante," meaning "before," which gave Vulgar Latin "anteānus," a formation meaning something like "of former times." Old French turned that into "ancien," and Middle English borrowed it as "auncyen." The spelling and pronunciation we know took shape over the following centuries, and the silent-looking "t" in today's pronunciation was added by analogy with the common ending "-ent," as in words like "present" and "patient," which is why the word now sounds as if it has an extra consonant. The word's odd twin is "ensign." Both words come from the same Old French "enseigne," and the modern spelling "ancient" is, in effect, a corrupted form of that flag or banner term, a reminder that two words with unrelated meanings can share a single ancestor. The word's core sense, "before," still shows in its connection to "ante," which also appears in "antecedent" and "anterior."

Synonyms: old, antique, archaic, historic, prehistoric

Antonyms: modern, new, contemporary