relic

American  

[rel-ik] / ˈrɛl ɪk /

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.

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relic British  

/ 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

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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

Goldhaber’s reimagining of an ominous relic from an earlier era of media consumption may capture for audiences the sensation, for better or worse, of what life can be like in an ultra-connected world.

From Los Angeles Times

Nearly 200 years on, the kitchen is not just a relic but is still in use.

From BBC

Now this story seems less like a relic and more like a warning.

From The Wall Street Journal

While many of its inhabitants have fled the latest war, others remain alongside the city's precious relics.

From Barron's

The province is dotted with old Catholic churches—a relic of a time when public institutions like schools and hospitals were under full control of the clergy.

From BBC

Related Words

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