relic
Americannoun
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a surviving memorial of something past.
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an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past.
a museum of historic relics.
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a surviving trace of something.
a custom that is a relic of paganism.
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relics,
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remaining parts or fragments.
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the remains of a deceased person.
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something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.
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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.
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a once widespread linguistic form that survives in a limited area but is otherwise obsolete.
noun
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something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom
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something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake
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(usually plural) a remaining part or fragment
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RC Church Eastern Churches part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy
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informal an old or old-fashioned person or thing
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archaic (plural) the remains of a dead person; corpse
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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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nearly 200 years on, the kitchen is not just a relic but is still in use.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
The without even features a pilgrimage to Topanga Tower, the mysterious cold-war relic in the Santa Monica mountains.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
“Friday” has become a relic of pop, virality and how we once used the internet.
From Salon • Feb. 16, 2026
One well-known example is the Holy Face of Manoppello, a centuries-old religious relic in Italy believed to be made from this rare material.
From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026
She thinks the book’s a relic from when weepy gang boys bonded over Gone with the Wind, but she quiets herself when she sees how much it’s affecting him.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
