archaic

Meaning

Noun

1. The prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, etc.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
2. (A member of) an archaic variety of Homo sapiens.

Adj

1. Of or characterized by antiquity; old-fashioned, quaint, antiquated.
2. No longer in ordinary use, though still used occasionally to give a sense of antiquity and are still likely to be understood by well-educated speakers and are found in historical texts.
3. Belonging to the archaic period.

Synonyms

ancient

old-fashioned

antiquated

dated

primitive

old

🧓

antique

obsolete

antediluvian

outdated

out-of-date

primeval

quaint

pristine

savage

traditional

underived

undeveloped

unevolved

unfashionable

very old

atavist

archaean

archean

hand-down

back

🔙

thrown-away

aboriginal

antediluvial

antiquarian

archaistic

developed

disused

early

old-world

outmoded

out of date

picturesque

primordial

Hyphenated as

ar‧cha‧ic

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɑː.ˈkeɪ.ɪk/

Etymology

From archaism (“ancient or obsolete phrase or expression”) or from French archaïque, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊκός (arkhaïkós, “old-fashioned”), from ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “from the beginning, antiquated, ancient, old”), from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “beginning, origin”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “I am first”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “I begin”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”).