antiquity

American  

[an-tik-wi-tee] / ænˈtɪk wɪ ti /

noun

• antiquities
  plural

1. the quality of being ancient; ancientness.

   a bowl of great antiquity.

2. ancient times; former ages.

   the splendor of antiquity.

3. the period of history before the Middle Ages.

4. the peoples, nations, tribes, or cultures of ancient times.

5. Usually antiquities. something belonging to or remaining from ancient times, as monuments, relics, or customs.

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antiquity British  

/ ænˈtɪkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality of being ancient or very old

   a vase of great antiquity

2. the far distant past, esp the time preceding the Middle Ages in Europe

3. the people of ancient times collectively; the ancients

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preantiquity
  noun
• subantiquity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• antiquities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of antiquity

1350–1400; Middle English antiquite < Anglo-French < Latin antīquitās, equivalent to antīqu ( us ) old ( see antique) + -itās -ity

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Explanation

If you find an antiquity, call a museum: you just found something very old. Antiquity can also mean the idea of oldness. The word antique should be a clue to the meaning of this word, which refers to things that are extremely old or ancient. This isn't grandparent old — this is really old, like hundreds or even thousands of years old. People also use this word to compare old ways of doing things to new ways: you could say an old-fashioned idea is an antiquity that goes against modernity (newer ideas and ways of doing things). Antiquity can also mean the time before the Middle Ages.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

antiquity antiquities

But he had access to the myths of antiquity through the Latin texts he studied in grammar school, and in translations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Nobel committee member Steve Sem-Sandberg said Carson is “an author for our time,” unique in her skill at connecting contemporary ways of living through antiquity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Earlier this week, the prizes for medicine, physics, chemistry and literature were announced in Stockholm, with the latter going to Canadian poet Anne Carson on Thursday for her modern twists on Greek mythology and antiquity.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

"Almost everything from antiquity has been destroyed," Seiler said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

When Buckland speculated on the antiquity of an Ichthyosaurus skeleton he could do no better than suggest that it had lived somewhere between "ten thousand, or more than ten thousand times ten thousand" years earlier.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

In Europe and elsewhere, co-ordinated, multi-national police and customs operations take place regularly, seizing large numbers of stolen antiquities and arresting some of the traffickers.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

As in other conflict zones like Ukraine, specialised training has been provided for those involved in trying to recover the antiquities, which has had some success.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

The stolen antiquities follow other types of bounty the RSF has ransacked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Sarkis Khoury, head of antiquities at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP the war had forced archaeologists to switch tack.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

And with the rest of it, they bought mansions and antiquities and art.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

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Related Words

• antique
• relic

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