Ancient
/ˈeɪnʃənt/
adjectiveBeginner📊CommonTime
1 meaning2 questions
Definitions
1
Very old; existing long ago.
/ˈeɪnʃənt/
adjectiveneutralBeginner
Time
Belonging to the very distant past; very old.
The ancient city of Rome is full of history.
💡 Simply: Old, old, old!
More Examples
2
We studied ancient civilizations in class.
How It's Used
History
"The ancient Greeks developed democracy."
Archaeology
"They unearthed ancient artifacts."
From Old French ancien, from Latin antiquus, meaning "old, ancient".
The word has been used consistently to refer to the distant past since its Old French origins.
Memory tip
Think 'antiquity' – related to ancient times.
Word Origin
LanguageLatin
Original meaning
"old"
ancient historyancient civilizationancient ruins
Common misspellings
anciantansient
Practice
Usage
20%Spoken
80%Written