Definitions for ancient
ˈeɪn ʃəntan·cient

Princeton's WordNet(3.88 / 16 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ancient, antediluvian(noun)

   a very old person

2. ancient(adj)

   a person who lived in ancient times

3. ancient(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"

4. ancient(adj)

   very old

   "an ancient mariner"

Wiktionary(2.87 / 8 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ancient(Noun)

   A person who is very old or who lived in ancient times.

   Etymology: From auncyen, from ancien, from root *anteanus, from ante. Compare antique.

2. ancient(Noun)

   A flag, banner, standard or ensign.

   Etymology: From auncyen, from ancien, from root *anteanus, from ante. Compare antique.

3. ancient(Adjective)

   Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age; very old.

   Etymology: From auncyen, from ancien, from root *anteanus, from ante. Compare antique.

4. ancient(Adjective)

   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.

Webster Dictionary(2.25 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Ancient(adj)

   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

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

2. Ancient(adj)

   old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

3. Ancient(adj)

   known for a long time, or from early times; -- opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

4. Ancient(adj)

   dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

5. Ancient(adj)

   experienced; versed

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

6. Ancient(adj)

   former; sometime

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

7. Ancient(noun)

   those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

8. Ancient(noun)

   an aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

9. Ancient(noun)

   a senior; an elder; a predecessor

   Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

10. Ancient(noun)

    one of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery

    Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

11. Ancient(noun)

    an ensign or flag

    Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

12. Ancient(noun)

    the bearer of a flag; an ensign

    Etymology: [Corrupted from ensign.]

Freebase(3.67 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. 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.]

2. Ancient

   ān′shent, n. (obs.) a flag or its bearer: an ensign. [Corr. of Fr. enseigne. See Ensign.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ancient

   A term formerly used to express the grand ensign or standard of an army.

Suggested Resources(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. ancient

   Song lyrics by ancient -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ancient on the Lyrics.com website.

Etymology and Origins(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ancient' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2009

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'ancient' in Adjectives Frequency: #272

Anagrams for ancient »

1. catenin

How to pronounce ancient?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say ancient in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of ancient in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of ancient in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of ancient in a Sentence

1. Joe McConnell:

   To find evidence that a volcano on the other side of the Earth erupted and effectively contributed to the demise of the Romans and the( ancient) Egyptians and the rise of Roman Empire is fascinating, people have been speculating about this for many years, so it's exciting to be able to provide some answers.

2. Emeasoba George:

   Countless books have been written and published already by numerous authors, more books are being written and published presently somewhere and many more books will be written and published subsequently. As a matter of fact, Bill Gates has written and published insightful books, as well John C. Maxwell has written and published many worth reading books, Og Mandino wrote and published inspirational books, Les Brown has written and published motivational books, Zig Ziglar wrote and published many profound books, Maya Angelou wrote and published life-changing books, Chidi Okoroafor has equally written and published several books of wisdom, also Enoch Adeboye has written and published wonderful books, Uma Ukpai has written and published inspiring books, undoubtedly David Oyedepo has written and published great books, W.F Kumuyi has written and published mind-blowing books, Chris Oyakhilome has written and published thoughtful books, similarly Myles Munroe wrote and published amazing books, Chinua Achebe wrote and published sagacious books, Wole Soyinka has written and published interesting books just like David Abioye who has also written and published thought-provoking books among other enormous books and their authors who are numerous for me to mention their names right here and right now. But above all, the scripture (Bible) is the greatest book of wisdom and knowledge ever written and published. And mark my words, it will ever remain the greatest book of all time. Yes! because unlike every other book, the scripture (Bible) is God-breathed (it is given or written by divine inspiration) Scripture Reference 2nd Timothy 3:16. Besides that, it is historic, historical, mystical (it has spiritual significance) and authoritative in nature, it equally contains incomparable guidelines for moral behaviour and belief (it is an embodiment of past or ancient wars and (the aftermaths), histories, cultures, norms, traditions, values, lifestyles and genealogical records). Moreover, it is a collection of books that encompasses past or ancient stories, chronicles, teachings, laws, parables, proverbs, psalms, teachers, preachers, heroes, heroines, saints, kings, queens, prophecies, prophets, prophetesses, miracles, warnings, signs, wonders, mysteries, revelations (the past, present and future events collectively) and much more than that, including extraordinary insights or words of wisdom (encouragement) from Jesus Christ himself (the greatest teacher and inspirator of all time), king Solomon, king David, saint Paul among other ancient wise men and women. In other words, the scripture (Bible) is nothing else but a typical and perfect example of a book saturated with uncommon and unprecedented inspirations, motivations, wisdom, knowledge, encouragement and hope for the hopeless. Now, that's why the scripture (Bible) is ever worth reading over and over again, regardless of one's religion. Most interestingly, the scripture (Bible) has been written and published already in nearly all the languages of the world. That is to say, billions of copies have been published and sold globally already, more copies are being published and sold presently and many more copies will be published and sold sooner or later. In fact, unimpeachably (beyond doubt and criticism) the scripture (Bible) has been read by the world as a whole and you can bet your bottom dollar, it (the Bible) will surely be read by the posterity ahead (all future generations ahead). Anyway, at this juncture I guess you should concur with me that the scripture (Bible) is and will ever remain the greatest book of all time. However, if you still don't concur with me, then it is obvious or rather I put it to you that you have not yet taken your time to read the scriptures (Bible) thoroughly. Nevertheless, you have to take your time in order to thoroughly read and discover the uniqueness and extraordinariness of the scriptures (Bible). For, once you have done just that, you will surely and eventually concur with me that the scripture (Bible) is and will ever remain the greatest book of all time, QED. ~Emeasoba George

3. Vanessa De Pietri:

   Whats remarkable about all this is that plotopterids and ancient penguins evolved these shared features independently, this is an example of what we call convergent evolution, when distantly related organisms develop similar morphological traits under similar environmental conditions.

4. Edgar Mitchell:

   Looking at Earth from space and seeing it was a planet in isolation ... that was an experience of ecstasy, realizing that every molecule in our bodies is a system of matter created from a star hanging in space, the experience I had was called Samadhi in the ancient Sanskrit, a feeling of overwhelming joy at seeing the Earth from that perspective.

5. Phyllis Mcginley:

   To be a housewife is ... a difficult, a wrenching, sometimes an ungrateful job if it is looked on only as a job. Regarded as a profession, it is the noblest as it is the most ancient of the catalogue. Let none persuade us differently or the world is lost indeed.

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