Definitions for ancient
ˈeɪn ʃəntan·cient

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

1. ancient, antediluviannoun

   a very old person

2. ancientadjective

   a person who lived in ancient times

3. 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"

4. ancientadjective

   very old

   "an ancient mariner"

Wiktionary(2.87 / 8 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ancientnoun

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

2. ancientnoun

   A flag, banner, standard or ensign.

3. ancientadjective

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

4. ancientadjective

   Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.

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

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. ANCIENTadjective

   Etymology: ancien, Fr. antiquus, Lat.

   1. Old; that happened long since; of old time; not modern. Ancient and old are distinguished; old relates to the duration of the thing itself, as, an old coat, a coat much worn; and ancient, to time in general, as, an ancient dress, a habit used in former times. But this is not always observed; for we mention old customs; but though old be sometimes opposed to modern, ancient is seldom opposed to new.

   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.

   2. Old; that has been of long duration.

   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.

   3. Past; former.

   I see thy fury: if I longer stay,
   We shall begin our ancient bickerings. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.

2. 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.

3. Ancientnoun

   The flag or streamer of a ship, and, formerly, of a regiment.

4. Ancientnoun

   The bearer of a flag, as was Ancient Pistol; whence in present use, ensign.

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

1. 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

2. Ancientadjective

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

3. Ancientadjective

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

4. Ancientadjective

   dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable

5. Ancientadjective

   experienced; versed

6. Ancientadjective

   former; sometime

7. Ancientnoun

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

8. Ancientnoun

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

9. Ancientnoun

   a senior; an elder; a predecessor

10. Ancientnoun

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

11. Ancientnoun

    an ensign or flag

12. Ancientnoun

    the bearer of a flag; an ensign

13. 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

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

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   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

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   Fred

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   Tessa

   South African

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. Michael Fradley:

   The looting focuses on an area southwest of the ancient city, presumably an extramural cemetery where tombs may contain grave goods.

2. Ken Farley:

   This is very important because it means that you will have multiple time periods in which we could potentially learn about environmental conditions on Mars, and we also have multiple time periods where we might be able to look for evidence of ancient life that might have existed on the planet.

3. Jonah Choiniere:

   The name reflects the great size of the animal as well as the fact that its lineage appeared at the origins of sauropod dinosaurs, it honors both the recent and ancient heritage of southern Africa.

4. Val Curtis:

   Disgust evolved to protect us from disease in our ancient past. The disgust response today may, or may not, be a good guide to what might make us sick today.

5. Robin Rnnlund:

   We hope to complete our survey ofthe remains to get a complete picture of the ancient city.

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