relic

[ rel-ik ]

/ ˈrɛl ɪk /

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See synonyms for: relic / relics on Thesaurus.com

noun

a surviving memorial of something past.

an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past: a museum of historic relics.

a surviving trace of something: a custom that is a relic of paganism.

relics,

remaining parts or fragments.
the remains of a deceased person.

something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.

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.

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

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM relic

rel·ic·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use relic in a sentence

Before preservationists could put a stop to it, he and other looters had raided and destroyed precious relics buried at the site.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their captors wore palm leaves, leopard skins, and magical relics to make themselves immune to bullets.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Relics, paintings, ancient texts, and other links to our past that were lost suddenly resurface in hard to explain places.
7 Historically Significant Artifacts Rescued by Happenstance|The Daily Beast|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tucked away antique shops are piled floor-to-ceiling with dusty relics.
Morocco's Secret All-Blue City|Nina Strochlic|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Bedos cradled them in his enormous hands as if they were precious relics.
Bam! Pow! Bling! Hip-Hop's History Gets the Graphic Novel Treatment|Daniel Genis|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So we placed some of these holy relics upon the sick man, at the same time offering our vows for him, and then he improved.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
I believe they expected to receive a large sum from these relics: how grievously they were disappointed I need not tell.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Life has few direr disenchanters than the morning smells of obsolete tobacco, relics though they be of hesternal beatitude.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The strangest materials were used in their construction; the public taste leaning towards relics possessing historical interest.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The old lady could not be persuaded to let these relics leave her keeping, but she willingly made extracts from them.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky

British Dictionary definitions for relic

relic

/ (ˈrɛlɪk) /

noun

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

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

(usually plural) a remaining part or fragment

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

informal an old or old-fashioned person or thing

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

ecology a less common term for relict (def. 1)

Word Origin for relic

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

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

relic

Origin of relic

OTHER WORDS FROM relic

Words related to relic

How to use relic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for relic

Word Origin for relic