ancient history

American  

noun

1. the study or a course of study of history before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d. 476.

2. information or an event of the recent past that is common knowledge or is no longer pertinent.

   Last week's news is ancient history.

3. an event, as in a person's life, that occurred in the remote past and has no practical relationship with the present.

   She was my best friend in high school, but that's ancient history now.

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ancient history British  

noun

1. the history of the ancient world from the earliest known civilizations to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 _a.d

2. informal a recent event or fact sufficiently familiar to have lost its pertinence

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ancient history Idioms  

1. A past event, as in She's talking about her sea voyage, but that's ancient history, or And then there was his divorce, but you don't want to hear ancient history. This hyperbolic idiom transfers the field of ancient history to a much-repeated tale.

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Etymology

Origin of ancient history

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ancient history

Now, of course, all of that is ancient history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Erkan Konyar, professor of ancient history at Istanbul University, describes the kingdom as "one of the most powerful states of the ancient Near East, between the 9th and 7th centuries BC."

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Looking ahead: “Energy saved the day in June, but that might become ancient history if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t open soon,” said David Russell, global head of strategy at TradeStation.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

That’s ancient history to most of us, making it fertile loam for speculative interpretation.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026

“Ah, but fortunately,” said my uncle, his eyes twinkling, “you are a dedicated scholar of ancient history and literature. You were able to solve it, I think.”

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan