What does ancient mean?
Definitions for ancient
ˈeɪn ʃəntan·cient
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ancient.
Princeton's WordNet
ancient, antediluviannoun
a very old person
ancientadjective
a person who lived in ancient times
ancientadjective
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"
ancientadjective
very old
"an ancient mariner"
Wiktionary
ancientnoun
A person who is very old or who lived in ancient times.
ancientnoun
A flag, banner, standard or ensign.
ancientadjective
Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age; very old.
ancientadjective
Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.
Etymology: From auncyen, from ancien, from root *anteanus, from ante. Compare antique.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
ANCIENTadjective
Etymology: ancien, Fr. antiquus, Lat.
Ancient tenure is that whereby all the manours belonging to the crown, in St. Edward’s or William the Conquerour’s days, did hold. The number and names of which manours, as all others belonging to common persons, he caused to be written in a book, after a survey made of them, now remaining in the exchequer, and called doomsday book; and such as by that book appeared to have belonged to the crown at that time, are called ancient demesnes. John Cowell.
With the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days understanding. Job, xii. 12.
Thales affirms, that God comprehended all things, and that God was of all things the most ancient, because he never had any beginning. Walter Raleigh, History of the World.
Industry
Gave the tall ancient forest too his axe. James Thomson, Summer.I see thy fury: if I longer stay,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.Ancientnoun
Those that lived in old time were called ancients, opposed to the moderns.
Etymology: from ancient, adj.
And though the ancients thus their rules invade,
As kings dispense with laws themselves have made;
Moderns, beware! or if you must offend
Against the precept, ne’er transgress its end. Alexander Pope, Ess. on Crit.Ancientnoun
The flag or streamer of a ship, and, formerly, of a regiment.
Ancientnoun
The bearer of a flag, as was Ancient Pistol; whence in present use, ensign.
Wikipedia
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BC – AD 500. The three-age system periodizes ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages varies between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others.During the time period of ancient history, the world population was already exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full progress. While in 10,000 BC, the world population stood at 2 million, it rose to 45 million by 3,000 BC. By the Iron Age in 1000 BC, the population had risen to 72 million. By the end of the ancient period in AD 500, the world population is thought to have stood at 209 million. In 10,500 years, the world population increased by 100 times.
ChatGPT
Ancient
Ancient generally refers to a remote period of time in human history, typically prior to the Middle Ages or any period of significance considered to have occurred in the distant past. It can be used as an adjective to describe civilizations, cultures, artifacts, practices, or any other historical elements that existed in antiquity. The term ancient often implies a sense of long-lasting or profound influence and can be applied to various regions and time periods across the world.
Webster Dictionary
Ancientadjective
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
Ancientadjective
old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle
Ancientadjective
known for a long time, or from early times; -- opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent
Ancientadjective
dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable
Ancientadjective
experienced; versed
Ancientadjective
former; sometime
Ancientnoun
those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns
Ancientnoun
an aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence
Ancientnoun
a senior; an elder; a predecessor
Ancientnoun
one of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery
Ancientnoun
an ensign or flag
Ancientnoun
the bearer of a flag; an ensign
Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]
Wikidata
Ancient
The Ancients are a humanoid race in the fictional Stargate universe. They are called "Ancients" in the Milky Way, but are also known as Lanteans or Ancestors in the Pegasus galaxy and as the Alterans in their home galaxy, and they sometimes call themselves Anquietas in their language. In the series mythology, they are one of the most advanced races known to have existed; they evolved millions of years before the present day and reached their level of technology long before humanity evolved on Earth. They are best known as the builders of the Stargates, the giant ring-shaped portals commonly used by Earth-based humans to travel and explore the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. The Ancients have become an important race in all three Stargate series. They belong to the same race as the Ori, the main antagonists in Stargate SG-1 since the show's ninth season, and have played a large role in the series' many story arcs. In Stargate Atlantis, the Ancients built Atlantis, the show's main setting, and are responsible for the emergence of the show's two main villain races: the Wraith and the Asurans. In Stargate Universe they are the ones that have built and launched the ship Destiny on its journey.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Ancient
ān′shent, 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. [Fr. ancien—Low L. antianus, old—L. ante, before. See Antique.]
Ancient
ān′shent, n. (obs.) a flag or its bearer: an ensign. [Corr. of Fr. enseigne. See Ensign.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
ancient
A term formerly used for the colours and their bearer, as ensign is now. Shakspeare's Nym was only a corporal, but Pistol was an ancient.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
ancient
A term formerly used to express the grand ensign or standard of an army.
Suggested Resources
ancient
Song lyrics by ancient -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ancient on the Lyrics.com website.
Etymology and Origins
Ancient
Iago is described as Othello’s “ancient.” Even in Shakespeare’s day this word was a corruption of ensign, or standard-bearer.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'ancient' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2009
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'ancient' in Adjectives Frequency: #272
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for ancient »
catenin
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of ancient in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of ancient in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of ancient in a Sentence
Today, the ancient tombs of the royal burial complexes are one of the few parts of the ancient Leluh site that remain intact, much of the historical site is overgrown by the tropical forest and has succumbed to hundreds of years of tropical weather and tidal inundation, and some parts of the site have been dismantled and reused in modern construction.
This research is critical to understanding the evolution of the skulls of modern and ancient snakes.
We were surprised by the wonderful state of preservation of the ancient remains, and the richness of the finds being uncovered, the artifacts found in the large building, which seems to be a monastic compound, may indicate that the site was important and perhaps a center for ancient pilgrims in the Judean Shephelah region.
This is a property where you can almost tangibly feel that it is healing, that it is recovering, you walk through the forest and, even as you see the kind of ghostly stumps of ancient trees that were harvested, you could also in the foggy landscape see the monsters that were left behind as well as the young redwoods that are sprouting from those stumps.
As it is an ancient truth that freedom cannot be legislated into existence, so it is no less obvious that freedom cannot be censored into existence.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for ancient
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- قديم, عتيق, القديمةArabic
- antic, vetustCatalan, Valencian
- starobylýCzech
- antik, uraltGerman
- αρχαίοςGreek
- malnovegaEsperanto
- antiguoSpanish
- ammoinen, muinainen, ikivanhaFinnish
- antique, ancienFrench
- ársaIrish
- प्राचीनHindi
- ősiHungarian
- հնադարյան, հինավուրց, հինArmenian
- anticoItalian
- עתיקHebrew
- 古代, 古いJapanese
- 고대Korean
- priscus, antiquus, senex, vetusLatin
- sensLatvian
- awekoMāori
- kunoMalay
- ရှေးBurmese
- weleers, antiek, eertijds, oeroud, eeuwenoudDutch
- eldgammelNorwegian
- starożytnyPolish
- antigoPortuguese
- machuQuechua
- древний, старинный, античныйRussian
- drevan, starodrevan, starSerbo-Croatian
- forntida, forn, urgammal, uråldrig, antikSwedish
- ప్రాచీనTelugu
- eski, antika, antikTurkish
- стародавнійUkrainian
- 古Chinese
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