classic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈklæs.ɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French classique or directly from Latin classicus (“relating to the highest classes of the Roman people; superior”),^[2][3][4] from classis (“class, division”).^[2][3][5] It is related to class and classical.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the first class, of the highest rank, approved as a model: 1613, in Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall,^[3][6] the 1610s in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Latin classicus first meant “belonging to a class or division” and later “of the highest class”.^[7] The sense “of the standard authors of ancient Greece and Rome” is from 1628,^[3][6] and “belonging to Greek and Latin antiquity” from 1701.^[6] The noun, a Greek or Roman writer or work, is from 1711, probably influenced by French classiques,^[3][2] and by the mid-18th century it meant any work or author of the first rank in any field.^[2] “Historically famous” is from 1787.^[6] The five chief annual English horse races were the classic races from 1885,^[6] and of clothes in a simple style almost unaffected by fashion it is from 1937.^[6] classical is older, from 1599,^[3] and classicism is from 1837.^[3] In classical Latin, classicus as a noun meant a marine, from the military sense of classis.^[2]

Timeline

• 1599 – classical.^[3]
• 1613 – of the first rank.^[3][6]
• 1628 – of Greek and Latin authors.^[3][6]
• 1711 – noun, a Greek or Roman author.^[3][2]
• mid-18th century – any work of the first rank.^[2]
• 1885 – the classic races.^[6]
• 1937 – of clothes, simple and timeless.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of the highest rank or quality.
2. Serving as the established model or standard.
3. Of lasting significance; enduring.
4. Typical; well-known as an example: a classic mistake.
5. Simple and elegant in style.
6. Of the literature or art of ancient Greece and Rome; classical.

Noun

1. An author, artist or work of the highest rank, especially of enduring importance.
2. the classics: the literature and languages of ancient Greece and Rome.
3. A typical or outstanding example.
4. An important annual sporting event, such as a horse race.

Word family

• classicism
• classicist
• classicize
• neoclassic
• neoclassicism
• nonclassic
• pseudoclassic
• semiclassic

Related words

• class
• classical
• classify

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press