Ancient
['eɪnʃ(ə)nt] or [ˈeɪnʃənt]
Definition
(noun.) a person who lived in ancient times.
(noun.) a very old person.
(adj.) very old; 'an ancient mariner' .
(adj.) 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' .
Checked by Bianca--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; belonging to times long past; specifically applied to the times before the fall of the Roman empire; -- opposed to modern; as, ancient authors, literature, history; ancient days.
(a.) Old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle.
(a.) Known for a long time, or from early times; -- opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent.
(a.) Dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable.
(a.) Experienced; versed.
(a.) Former; sometime.
(n.) Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns.
(n.) An aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence.
(n.) A senior; an elder; a predecessor.
(n.) One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.
(n.) An ensign or flag.
(n.) The bearer of a flag; an ensign.
Editor: Rufus
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Old, primitive, pristine, OLDEN, of old time, not modern.[2]. Of great age, of long duration.[3]. Antiquated, antique, archaic, obsolete, by-gone, old-fashioned, out of fashion, out of date, gone by.
Checker: Patrice
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Old, antiquated, oldfashioned, antique, obsolete, old-time, aged, primeval,primordial, immemorial, time-honored
ANT:New, young, modern, juvenile, upstart, fresh, parvenu
Typist: Rosanna
Definition
adj. old: belonging to former times specifically of times prior to the downfall of the western Roman empire (476 A.D.): of great age or duration: of past times in a general sense: venerable: antique old-fashioned.—n. an aged man a patriarch: a superior in age or dignity.—adv. An′ciently.—ns. An′cientness; An′cientry ancientness seniority: ancestry: dignity of birth: (Shak.) old people.—n.pl. An′cients those who lived in remote times esp. the Greeks and Romans of classical times: (B.) elders.—The Ancient of days a title in the Holy Scriptures for the Almighty applied by Byron to Athens.
n. (obs.) a flag or its bearer: an ensign.
Editor: Monica
Examples
- In translating him into the language of modern thought, we might insensibly lose the spirit of ancient philosophy. Plato. The Republic.
- Five days' journey from here--say two hundred miles--are the ruins of an ancient city, of whose history there is neither record nor tradition. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Superiority of birth supposes an ancient superiority of fortune in the family of the person who claims it. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Ferguson said, further, that the Pope permits no ancient work of this kind to leave his dominions. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- All the ancient arts of Mexico and Peru have never furnished one single manufacture to Europe. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Your observation of the similitude between many of the words and those of the ancient world, are indeed very curious. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Over most of the area of Western Central Asia and Persia and Mesopotamia, the ancient distinction of nomad and settled population remains to this day. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Ancient remains point to a much wider distribution of the Basque speech and people over Spain. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Metallurgy is an ancient art, and the working of gold, silver and copper dates back to the beginning of history. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Both the hospitality and the charity of the ancient clergy, accordingly, are said to have been very great. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The ancient customs were divided into three branches. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- For on the theory, such strata must somewhere have been deposited at these ancient and utterly unknown epochs of the world's history. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Almost all states, however, ancient as well as modern, when reduced to this necessity, have, upon some occasions, played this very juggling trick. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Happy people, who enjoy so many living examples of ancient virtue, and have masters ready to instruct them in the wisdom of all former ages! Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- I alighted at Perdita's ancient abode, her cottage; and, sending forward the carriage, determined to walk across the park to the castle. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- The information the ancients didn't have was very voluminous. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He has a clearer conception of the divisions of science and of their relation to the mind of man than was possible to the ancients. Plato. The Republic.
- We need not dwell on what the ancients produced in this line. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- I studied the wisdom of the ancients, and gazed on the happy walls that sheltered the beloved of my soul. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Cast Iron Made by Ancients, Disused for 15 Centuries. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Recourse was had to the inventions of the ancients, from whom the paddle-wheel was taken, to find some other means of propulsion. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Having a desire to see those ancients who were most renowned for wit and learning, I set apart one day on purpose. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- The age of inventions in the times of the ancients rested mainly upon simple applications of these mechanical powers. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The name was applied by the ancients to a period of about forty days, the hottest season of the year, at the time of the rising of Sirius, the dog-star. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The ancients wore their diamonds uncut because they could not find a substance that would grind or cut them. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Like the ancients in general, he had no idea of the gradual perfectibility of man or of the education of the human race. Plato. The Republic.
- The ancients usually ranked good fortune among those circumstances of life which indicate merit. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- The ancients considered the Pillars of Hercules the head of navigation and the end of the world. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- We have some idea how the ancients looked and felt and wrote; the abundant evidence takes us back to the cave-dwellers. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The appeals of Confucius to the wisdom of the ancients are always quoted to clinch this suggestion. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Edited by Abraham