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antediluvian

[an-tee-di-loo-vee-uh n]
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adjective
  1. of or belonging to the period before the Flood. Gen. 7, 8.
  2. very old, old-fashioned, or out of date; antiquated; primitive: antediluvian ideas.
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noun
  1. a person who lived before the Flood.
  2. a very old or old-fashioned person or thing.
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Origin of antediluvian

1640–50; ante- + Latin dīluvi(um) a flood, deluge + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

antique, primitive, ancient, old, antiquated, archaic, hoary, obsolete, old-fashioned, primeval, primordial, timeworn, venerable, age-old

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British Dictionary definitions for antediluvian

antediluvian

adjective
  1. belonging to the ages before the biblical Flood (Genesis 7, 8)
  2. old-fashioned or antiquated
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noun
  1. an antediluvian person or thing
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Word Origin

C17: from ante- + Latin dīluvium flood
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antediluvian

adj.

"before Noah's flood," 1640s, formed from Latin ante- "before" (see ante) + diluvium "a flood" (see deluge (n.)). Coined by English physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). As a noun meaning "person who lived before the Flood," from 1680s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper