archaic

[ahr-key-ik]

adjective

1. marked by the characteristics of an earlier period; antiquated.

   an archaic manner; an archaic notion.

2. (of a linguistic form) commonly used in an earlier time but rare in present-day usage except to suggest the older time, as in religious rituals or historical novels. Examples.

   thou; wast; methinks; forsooth.

3. forming the earliest stage; prior to full development.

   the archaic period of psychoanalytic research.

4. (often initial capital letter),  pertaining to or designating the style of the fine arts, especially painting and sculpture, developed in Greece from the middle 7th to the early 5th century b.c., chiefly characterized by an increased emphasis on the human figure in action, naturalistic proportions and anatomical structure, simplicity of volumes, forms, or design, and the evolution of a definitive style for the narrative treatment of subject matter.

5. primitive; ancient; old.

   an archaic form of animal life.

archaic

/ ɑːˈkeɪɪk /

adjective

1. belonging to or characteristic of a much earlier period; ancient

2. out of date; antiquated

   an archaic prison system

3. (of idiom, vocabulary, etc) characteristic of an earlier period of a language and not in ordinary use

Usage

Archaic is used as a label in this dictionary for terms and definitions that were current roughly as late as 1900 but are now employed only as conscious archaisms, as described and exemplified in definition 2 above. An archaic term is generally more recognizable, as when encountered in literature, than one labeled Obsolete.

Other Word Forms

• archaically adverb
• pseudoarchaic adjective
• pseudoarchaically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of archaic¹

First recorded in 1825–35; from French archaïque, or directly from Greek archaïkós “antiquated, old-fashioned,” equivalent to archaî(os) “old” + -ikos adjective suffix; -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of archaic¹

C19: from French archaïque, from Greek arkhaïkos, from arkhaios ancient, from arkhē beginning, from arkhein to begin

Example Sentences

California passed its new law in response to the 9th Circuit ruling last year, which held that state law at the time required it to apply an archaic Spanish law.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

True, some of the younger doctors found the ritual archaic, but to Rustin scrubbing was more than a matter of hygiene—it established the mood and rhythm of the whole operation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"That is why I have ordered new tough release checks, commissioned an independent investigation into systemic failures, and begun overhauling archaic paper-based systems still used in some prisons."

Read more on BBC

She told the BBC tech experts were being brought in to help prison staff, who she said were dealing with an "archaic" paper-based records system.

Read more on BBC

Past that loom sweeping structural reforms of Argentina’s archaic labor laws, tax and pension systems.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• ancient 
• antiquated 
• obsolete 
• old-fashioned 
• outmoded 
• primitive