antique

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌænˈtik/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French antique (“old”),^[2][3][4] from Latin antīquus (“former, ancient, old”) (later antīcus),^[2][3][5] from ante (“before”) (see ante-),^[2][5][6] from a PIE compound of Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti (“before, in front”) and a root meaning to see, literally looking forward.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a relic of ancient art: 1530, in Palsgrave, in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, the 1520s in Etymonline.^[2][5][3] The adjective, aged or venerable, is from 1536,^[2][7][3] and belonging to former times from 1541.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

It was originally pronounced in English like its doublet antic, but the French pronunciation and spelling were adopted from about 1700.^[3][4] Old-fashioned, antiquated, is from 1647 (not modern from the 1640s),^[7][3] and of the ancients of Greece and Rome from 1734.^[7] An old and collectible object is from 1771.^[3] The verb, to give something the look of an antique, is from 1884, and to shop for antiques is a later use.^[5][8]

Timeline

• 1530 – a relic of antiquity.^[2]
• 1536 – aged, venerable.^[2][7]
• 1641 – old-fashioned.^[7]
• c. 1700 – French pronunciation adopted.^[3]
• 1771 – a collectible object.^[3]
• 1884 – to antique (verb).^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An old object, such as furniture or a work of art, valued for its age, beauty or workmanship.
2. The style of ancient art, especially Greek or Roman.

Adjective

1. Made in an earlier period and valued as such.
2. Belonging to ancient times, especially of Greece or Rome.
3. Old-fashioned.

Verb

1. To make something look old.

Word family

• antiquely
• antiqueness
• antiquer
• pseudoantique
• subantique

Related words

• ancient
• antic
• antiquarian
• antiquary
• antiquate
• antiquity
• verd antique
• antiquated
• ante-

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin