relic

[rel-ik]

noun

1. a surviving memorial of something past.

2. an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past.

   a museum of historic relics.

3. a surviving trace of something.

   a custom that is a relic of paganism.

4. relics,

   1. remaining parts or fragments.

   2. the remains of a deceased person.

5. something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.

6. 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.

7. a once widespread linguistic form that survives in a limited area but is otherwise obsolete.

relic

/ ˈrɛlɪk /

noun

1. something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom

2. something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake

3. (usually plural) a remaining part or fragment

4. RC Church Eastern Churches part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy

5. informal,  an old or old-fashioned person or thing

6. archaic,  (plural) the remains of a dead person; corpse

7. ecology a less common term for relict

Other Word Forms

• reliclike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of relic¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French relique < Latin reliquiae (plural) remains (> Old English reliquias ), equivalent to reliqu ( us ) remaining + -iae plural noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of relic¹

C13: from Old French relique , from Latin reliquiae remains, from relinquere to leave behind, _relinquish

Example Sentences

In it, a relic holder contains a single strand of Carlo's hair.

From BBC

We had those relics in the old Times building too.

From Los Angeles Times

In the “see no color” 1990s liberal America sold itself on the false idea that bigotry and racist terror were such distant relics of a bygone age that this could be played for laughs.

From Salon

The herbs themselves are stored in what looks like a relic from a university office: a honeycomb of wooden cubbies, each one just big enough to hold about a dozen packets.

From Salon

“Symbols of hate like the swastika are not simply relics of history, they remain dangerous reminders of violence and intolerance,” Senior Deputy Dist.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• antique 
• antiquity 
• artifact 
• curio 
• evidence 
• fragment 
• keepsake 
• memento 
• monument 
• remains 
• remnant 
• souvenir