classic English · revision 3895

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1613|origins=la classis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklæs.ɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|classique]] or directly [[der|la|classicus|t=relating to the highest classes of the Roman people; superior]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|classis|t=class, division]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[class]] and [[classical]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the first class, of the highest rank, approved as a model: 1613, in Cawdrey's ''Table Alphabeticall'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the 1610s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Latin classicus first meant “belonging to a class or division” and later “of the highest class”.^(NODE 1998) The sense “of the standard authors of ancient Greece and Rome” is from 1628,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and “belonging to Greek and Latin antiquity” from 1701.^(OED 1989) The noun, a Greek or Roman writer or work, is from 1711, probably influenced by French classiques,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and by the mid-18th century it meant any work or author of the first rank in any field.^(Etymonline) “Historically famous” is from 1787.^(OED 1989) The five chief annual English horse races were the ''classic races'' from 1885,^(OED 1989) and of clothes in a simple style almost unaffected by fashion it is from 1937.^(OED 1989) [[classical]] is older, from 1599,^(Barnhart 1988) and [[classicism]] is from 1837.^(Barnhart 1988) In classical Latin, classicus as a noun meant a marine, from the military sense of classis.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1599 – ''classical''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1613 – of the first rank.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1628 – of Greek and Latin authors.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – noun, a Greek or Roman author.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-18th century – any work of the first rank.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1885 – the classic races.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1937 – of clothes, simple and timeless.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of the highest rank or quality.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Serving as the established model or standard.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of lasting significance; enduring.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Typical; well-known as an example: ''a classic mistake''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Simple and elegant in style.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of the literature or art of ancient Greece and Rome; [[classical]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An author, artist or work of the highest rank, especially of enduring importance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''the classics'': the literature and languages of ancient [[Greece]] and Rome.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A typical or outstanding example.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An important annual sporting event, such as a horse race.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[classicism]]

+ * [[classicist]]

+ * [[classicize]]

+ * [[neoclassic]]

+ * [[neoclassicism]]

+ * [[nonclassic]]

+ * [[pseudoclassic]]

+ * [[semiclassic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[class]]

+ * [[classical]]

+ * [[classify]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}