Ancient

Definition of Ancient

An´cient
a.1.Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; belonging to times long past; specifically applied to the times before the fall of the Roman empire; - opposed to modern; as, ancient authors, literature, history; ancient days.
Witness those ancient empires of the earth.
- Milton.
Gildas Albanius . . . much ancienter than his namesake surnamed the Wise.
- Fuller.
2.Old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle.
Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set.
- Prov. xxii. 28.
An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for quarters.
- Scott.
3.Known for a long time, or from early times; - opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent.
A friend, perhaps, or an ancient acquaintance.
- Barrow.
4.Dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable.
He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then would he seem very grave and ancient.
- Holland.
5.Experienced; versed.
Though [he] was the youngest brother, yet he was the most ancient in the business of the realm.
- Berners.
6.Former; sometime.
They mourned their ancient leader lost.
- Pope.
Ancient demesne
(Eng. Law) a tenure by which all manors belonging to the crown, in the reign of William the Conqueror, were held. The numbers, names, etc., of these were all entered in a book called Domesday Book.
Ancient lights
(Law) windows and other openings which have been enjoined without molestation for more than twenty years. In England, and in some of the United States, they acquire a prescriptive right.
n.1.Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns.
2.An aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence.
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof.
- Isa. iii. 14.
3.A senior; an elder; a predecessor.
Junius and Andronicus . . . in Christianity . . . were his ancients.
- Hooker.
4.(Eng. Law) One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.
Council of Ancients
(French Hist.) one of the two assemblies composing the legislative bodies in 1795.
- Brande.
1.An ensign or flag.
More dishonorable ragged than an old-faced ancient.
- Shak.
2.The bearer of a flag; an ensign.
This is Othello's ancient, as I take it.
- Shak.

Related Words

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