English Explanatory Dictionary

archaic

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, etc.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
  2. (A member of) an archaic variety of Homo sapiens.
adj
  1. Of or characterized by antiquity; old-fashioned, quaint, antiquated.
  2. No longer in ordinary use, though still used occasionally to give a sense of antiquity and still likely to be understood by well-educated speakers and are found in historical texts.
  3. Belonging to the archaic period.

Pronunciation

/ɑːˈkeɪ.ɪk/ /ɑɹˈkeɪ.ɪk/ en-us-archaic.ogg /ɐːˈkæɪ.ɪk/ /ɑ(r).ke.jɪk/

Word forms

archaic archaics archaïc archaick archaeic archæic more archaic most archaic

Etymology

From archaism (“ancient or obsolete phrase or expression”) or from French archaïque, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊκός (arkhaïkós, “old-fashioned”), from ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “from the beginning, antiquated, ancient, old”), from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “beginning, origin”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to be first”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”).

Synonyms

dated obsolete old fashioned

Related words

archaeologist archeologist archaeology archeology archeobacteria culture horizon stage paleoethnobotany paleo Paleo-indian Paleolithic

Derived words

archaical archaically archaicism archaicity archaicize archaicness archaic smile archaicy archaism archaist hyperarchaic nonarchaic pseudo-archaic superarchaic unarchaic
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