extant

[ek-stuh nt, ik-stant]

See more synonyms for extant on Thesaurus.com

adjective

in existence; still existing; not destroyed or lost: There are only three extant copies of the document.
Archaic. standing out; protruding.

Origin of extant

1535–45; < Latin ex(s)tant- (stem of ex(s)tāns) standing out, present participle of exstāre, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + stāre to stand

Related formsnon·ex·tant, adjective

Can be confusedextant extent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for extant

Contemporary Examples

In London it is located in the Duveen Gallery where half the extant marbles sit under white light as if in a morgue.
Britain Has Lost Its Marbles: Elgin Loan Will Appease Putin
Geoffrey Robertson
December 5, 2014
In fact, Lau believes that cases of sexual assault do not belong in a university, but in the extant legal and judicial systems.
Is UMass-Amherst Biased Against Male Students in Title IX Assault Cases?
Emily Shire
August 18, 2014
Alas, CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler has already said that if Extant is a hit like Dome, it will return next year.
Surprise! Halle Berry’s Career Is ‘Extant’
Jason Lynch
July 9, 2014
Today,” Deptula said, “the Russians have an extant significant advantage in their surface to air capabilities.
The Pentagon Isn’t Ready for a New Cold War
Jacob Siegel
March 20, 2014
The extant issues are numerous but at least we know what they are.
Hopes for Religion in 2014 Include Tolerance, More Women, Less Politics
Joshua DuBois
December 22, 2013

Historical Examples

It is a matter of much regret that so few of his Gaelic poems are extant.
The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3, January 1876
Various
No extant writer mentions them older than Cicero and Cornelius Nepos.
Charmides
Plato
That stanza, as it stands above, does not occur in any of the extant quasi-originals.
Sir Walter Scott
George Saintsbury
He also thought he was safe in assuming that the edition by Berthelet was the only one extant.
Shakespeare Jest-Books;
Unknown
These are among the oldest representatives of the plant world now extant.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America

British Dictionary definitions for extant

extant

adjective

still in existence; surviving
archaic standing out; protruding

Word Origin

C16: from Latin exstāns standing out, from exstāre, from stāre to stand

usage

Extant is sometimes wrongly used simply to say that something exists, without any connotation of survival: plutonium is perhaps the deadliest element in existence (not the deadliest element extant)

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 extant

adj.

1540s, "standing out above a surface," from Latin extantem (nominative extans), present participle of extare "stand out, be visible, exist," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Sense of "in existence" attested in English by 1560s.

extant

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}extant

Examples from the Web for extant

Contemporary Examples

In London it is located in the Duveen Gallery where half the extant marbles sit under white light as if in a morgue.

In fact, Lau believes that cases of sexual assault do not belong in a university, but in the extant legal and judicial systems.

Alas, CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler has already said that if Extant is a hit like Dome, it will return next year.

Today,” Deptula said, “the Russians have an extant significant advantage in their surface to air capabilities.

The extant issues are numerous but at least we know what they are.

Historical Examples

It is a matter of much regret that so few of his Gaelic poems are extant.

No extant writer mentions them older than Cicero and Cornelius Nepos.

That stanza, as it stands above, does not occur in any of the extant quasi-originals.

He also thought he was safe in assuming that the edition by Berthelet was the only one extant.

These are among the oldest representatives of the plant world now extant.

extant

Word Origin

usage

Word Origin and History for extant

adj.

Origin of extant