English Explanatory Dictionary

relict

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Something that, or someone who, survives or remains or is left over after the loss of others; a relic.
  2. The surviving member of a married couple after one or the other has died; a widow or widower.
  3. A species, organism, or ecosystem that has survived from a previous age: one that was once widespread but is now found only in a few areas.
  4. A structure or other feature that has survived from a previous age.
  5. A survival of an archaic word, language or other form.
adj
  1. Surviving, remaining.
  2. That is a relict; pertaining to a relict.

Pronunciation

/ˈɹɛlɪkt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-relict.wav

Word forms

relict relicts

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English relicte (“widow”), from Middle French relicte (“widow”), from Late Latin relicta (“widow”), from Latin relictus, past participle of relinquō (“to abandon, to relinquish, to leave (behind)”), from re- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”). Doublet of relic, derelict, and relinquish.

Related words

delict delinquency delinquent derelict relic relinquish reliquary

Derived words

pedorelict relictual

Translations

Bulgarian: вдовица Czech: reliikt Danish: relikt Danish: levn Dutch: overblijfsel Dutch: relict Finnish: pyhäinjäännös Greek: λείψανο Macedonian: рели́кт Macedonian: о́станка Macedonian: вдо́вица Polish: relikt Swedish: relikt
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