Vintage

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈvɪn.tɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. Relating to items from a past era, typically of high quality and representing the best of their time period
2. Pertaining to objects or styles that come from an earlier time and are prized for their classic qualities ; the harvest of grapes collected in a particular year for producing wine
3. Describing something from a former time esteemed for its lasting appeal and distinct qualities ; the quantity of grapes gathered during one season to create wine

Etymology: The most striking thing about "vintage" is that its Latin ancestor, "vindēmia," literally meant "grape-removal": it joined "vīnum" (wine) with "dēmō," a verb meaning to take off or away, built from "de" (away) and "emō" (take). The harvest was named for the act of stripping the vines of their fruit, and the wine-making sense came along with it. That Latin word passed into Old French as "vendenge" and "vendage," and from there into Middle English as "vendage" and "vyndage," carried in through Anglo-Norman speech. The French descendant "vendange" still means grape harvest today, so the modern English word is a relative of a living French term for the same activity. The sense of age and quality came much later, from the idea that a harvest year's wine was something to be valued. The adjective "vintage," meaning from an earlier time, is the one most readers now meet, and it grew out of the wine-year meaning rather than the harvest itself.

Synonyms: classic, antique, old-fashioned, timeless, traditional

Antonyms: modern, new, contemporary, recent, current