relic

American  

[rel-ik] / ˈrɛl ɪk /

noun

1. a surviving memorial of something past.

2. an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past.

   a museum of historic relics.

3. a surviving trace of something.

   a custom that is a relic of paganism.

4. relics,

   1. remaining parts or fragments.

   2. the remains of a deceased person.

5. something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.

6. Ecclesiastical. (especially in the Roman Catholic and Greek churches) the body, a part of the body, or some personal memorial of a saint, martyr, or other sacred person, preserved as worthy of veneration.

7. a once widespread linguistic form that survives in a limited area but is otherwise obsolete.

---

relic British  

/ ˈrɛlɪk /

noun

1. something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom

2. something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake

3. (usually plural) a remaining part or fragment

4. RC Church Eastern Churches part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy

5. informal an old or old-fashioned person or thing

6. archaic (plural) the remains of a dead person; corpse

7. ecology a less common term for relict

---

Other Word Forms

• reliclike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of relic

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French relique < Latin reliquiae (plural) remains (> Old English reliquias ), equivalent to reliqu ( us ) remaining + -iae plural noun suffix

Explanation

A relic is a fragment from the past — one of Elvis's guitars, an ancient piece of pottery or even an outmoded way of thinking -– that remains behind. Your dad might love his old albums, but to you, they're just relics. The noun relic is derived from relinquere, Latin for "to leave behind." A crumbling Roman wall is a relic of a once-great civilization. The superstition that seven years of bad luck will follow if you break a mirror may be a relic of the old superstition that a mirror can trap the souls of those reflected in it. Whether it's an object or an idea, a relic is a remnant of the past. Religious relics are items, such as Buddha’s tooth or St. Anne’s wrist bone, that have been preserved and venerated.

Example Sentences

Contemporary Relic: Art that isn’t particularly old, but feels like it comes from another time altogether.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

Dunja Relic, a 27-year-old lawyer, says she steers clear of workplace calls because "they can be time consuming and set you back on your tasks".

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2024

The recovered artifacts will now head to the South Carolina State Museum and the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and War Museum, both located in Columbia.

From Washington Times • Nov. 14, 2023

The remains are expected to find a safer home at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in the state capital of Columbia.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

But War Relic had been an angel for exactly one and three quarter races, and he was pushing his limits.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• antique
• antiquity
• artifact
• curio
• evidence
• fragment
• keepsake
• memento
• monument
• remains
• remnant
• souvenir