classical English · revision 6679

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1599}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[classic]] and [[-al]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|classicus|t=of the highest class]] (see [[class]]).^(NODE 1998)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the first rank or authority, originally in literature: 1599 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Belonging to the standard Greek and Latin writers and their art is from 1607,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and learned in the classics, of persons, from 1711.^(OED 1989) ''Classical music'' (1836) was at first defined against romantic music, the composers from about 1700 to about 1830;^(Etymonline) 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.^(Etymonline) The form of a language used by its standard ancient writers, as Classical Latin, is from 1850.^(OED 1989) In physics, classical mechanics is the system of Newton, as distinct from relativity and quantum theory.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1599 – of the first rank.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1607 – of Greek and Latin authors.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – learned in the classics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1836 – classical music.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1850 – of a language's standard ancient form.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to ancient [[Greece]] and [[Rome]], especially their art and literature.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of music, belonging to the European tradition of serious [[art music]], especially of the period about 1750–1830.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Traditional and long established; standard: ''classical economics''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(physics)'' Based on the principles of Newtonian [[physics]] rather than [[quantum mechanics]] or [[relativity]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[classicality]]

+ * [[classically]]

+ * [[hyperclassical]]

+ * [[postclassical]]

+ * [[anticlassical]]

+ * [[nonclassical]]

+ * [[preclassical]]

+ * [[semiclassical]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[classicism]]

+ * [[classic]]

+ * [[class]]

+ * [[classics]]

+ * [[neoclassical]]

+

+ ==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.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}