antic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæn.tɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian antico (“ancient”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin antiquus (“old, ancient”).^[2][3][4][5] It was first spelled antike or anticke, later antique,^[4][5] so it is a doublet of antique.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A grotesque or comical gesture or act (1529).^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Italian the word was used, like grottesco, of the fantastic figures of people, animals and plants on ancient Roman murals unearthed in the 16th century, especially in the Baths of Titus.^[4][5][2] The sense was extended to anything similarly bizarre,^[4][5] and English took it mainly for ludicrous behaviour, and for a clown who performs it.^[5][7][2] In art it named fantastic, incongruously combined figures (1540s).^[5][7] In the 17th century the spelling antique was kept for the “old” sense,^[5] leaving antic to mean grotesque or playful.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1529 – noun, a grotesque or ludicrous act.^[4][3]
• 1548 – adjective, grotesque, in art and decoration.^[7][3]
• 1589 – verb, to perform antics.^[7]
• 1590 – adjective, absurd in gesture.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A playful, ludicrous or extravagant act; a caper (usually plural).
2. (archaic) A buffoon or clown.

Adjective

1. Ludicrous and odd; fantastic or grotesque.
2. Playful and absurd.

Word family

• antically
• anticly

Related words

• ancient
• antiquarian
• antiquary
• antiquated
• antique
• antiquity
• grotesque
• caper

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press