ancient English · revision 3947

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1366|origins=la ante}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|auncien]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|ancien|t=old, long-standing, ancient]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*anteānus|t=from before]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Latin ante “before” and -ānus,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*anti|t=against]], from the root *ant- “front, forehead”.^(Etymonline) The final t was added in the 15th century,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) by mistaken association with adjectives in -ant and -ent,^(Barnhart 1988) as also happened in [[pageant]], [[pheasant]] and [[tyrant]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[ante-]] and [[antique]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Existing in times long past: 1366 in the OED;^(OED 1989) Etymonline has the late 14th century, of persons, “very old”,^(Etymonline) and Barnhart about 1390, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of things, “having lasted from a remote period”, it is from about 1400,^(Etymonline) and “existing in times long past” from the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) In history it means belonging to the period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, contrasted with medieval and modern (about 1600),^(Etymonline) 1605 in the OED.^(OED 1989) In English law it meant “from before the Norman Conquest”.^(Etymonline) The noun, “a very old person”, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and ''the ancients'', the classical peoples or authors, is 16th-century.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) Johnson distinguished ancient from old, which relates to how long a thing has lasted.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1366 – of times long past.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – very old, of persons.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – of long standing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1502 – noun.^(MWU 2024)

+ * c. 1600 – before the fall of Rome.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very old; of great age.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of times long past, especially before the fall of the Western [[Roman Empire]] (476).^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Old-fashioned; [[antiquated]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Having the qualities of age or long use; [[venerable]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very old person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person who lived in ancient times.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''The ancients'', the peoples or authors of classical [[antiquity]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[anciently]]

+ * [[ancientness]]

+ * [[ancientry]]

+ * [[ancient history]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[antic]]

+ * [[antique]]

+ * [[antiquary]]

+ * [[antiquarian]]

+ * [[antiquated]]

+ * [[antiquity]]

+ * [[ante-]]

+ * [[ensign]]

+ * [[anterior]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The archaic ancient, “a flag” and “a standard-bearer”, as in Shakespeare's Ancient Pistol, is a corruption of [[ensign]], by association with this word (1554).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}