Etymologically
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classical

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from classic and -al,[2][3] from Latin classicus (“of the highest class”) (see class).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the first rank or authority, originally in literature: 1599 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Belonging to the standard Greek and Latin writers and their art is from 1607,[6][5] and learned in the classics, of persons, from 1711.[6] Classical music (1836) was at first defined against romantic music, the composers from about 1700 to about 1830;[2] by the 1880s the term also meant music that had stood the test of time, and later it was contrasted with jazz and popular music.[2] The form of a language used by its standard ancient writers, as Classical Latin, is from 1850.[6] In physics, classical mechanics is the system of Newton, as distinct from relativity and quantum theory.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1599 – of the first rank.[6]
  • 1607 – of Greek and Latin authors.[6]
  • 1711 – learned in the classics.[6]
  • 1836 – classical music.[2]
  • 1850 – of a language's standard ancient form.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to ancient Greece and Rome, especially their art and literature.
  2. Of music, belonging to the European tradition of serious art music, especially of the period about 1750–1830.
  3. Traditional and long established; standard: classical economics.
  4. (physics) Based on the principles of Newtonian physics rather than quantum mechanics or relativity.

Word family

  • classicality
  • classically
  • hyperclassical
  • postclassical
  • anticlassical
  • nonclassical
  • preclassical
  • semiclassical

Usage notes

Collins distinguishes classic, typical or of lasting excellence, from classical, relating to ancient Greece and Rome or to serious music, though the two overlap.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins