relict

[ rel-ikt ]

/ ˈrɛl ɪkt /

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noun

Ecology. a species or community living in an environment that has changed from that which is typical for it.

a remnant or survivor.

a widow.

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Origin of relict

1525–35; <Medieval Latin relicta widow, noun use of feminine of Latin relictus, past participle of relinquere to relinquish

Words nearby relict

reliable, reliance, reliant, relic, relic area, relict, relief, reliefer, relief map, relief pitcher, relief valve

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

How to use relict in a sentence

Discovering this relict ecosystem highlights the widespread impact past changes in the climate have had on the world’s coastlines, Ezcurra says, and it provides a chance to better understand how future sea level rise may affect these ecosystems.
How these sea-loving mangroves ended up far from the coast|Trishla Ostwal|October 22, 2021|Science News
This supports our hypothesis that the San Pedro River mangroves are a relict from the last interglacial, some 120,000 years ago.
This secret mangrove forest is unlike any other in the world|Sula E Vanderplank/The Conversation|October 19, 2021|Popular-Science
We hope scientists who study other types of organisms will explore this area and look for more relicts.
This secret mangrove forest is unlike any other in the world|Sula E Vanderplank/The Conversation|October 19, 2021|Popular-Science
She was attired in the black calico riding-skirt and sunbonnet 443 which represented the mourning garb of the mountain relict.
In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim|Frances Hodgson Burnett

We cannot but rejoice that in the present day there exists not the slightest relict of serfdom in any part of the United Kingdom.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 461|Various
To whose memory as an instance of her conjugal affection, Mary, his sorrowful relict, caused this monument to be erected.
The New Guide to Peterborough Cathedral|George S. Phillips
He felt that he could not refuse the unexplained opportunity to pay at least his respects to the relict of his idol.
The Cup of Fury|Rupert Hughes
What brought me to consciousness was his fumbling with the buttons at the waist of that blue muslin relict of a sentiment.
The Melting of Molly|Maria Thompson Daviess

British Dictionary definitions for relict

relict

/ (ˈrɛlɪkt) /

noun

ecology

a group of animals or plants that exists as a remnant of a formerly widely distributed group in an environment different from that in which it originated
(as modifier)a relict fauna

geology

a mountain, lake, glacier, etc, that is a remnant of a pre-existing formation after a destructive process has occurred
a mineral that remains unaltered after metamorphism of the rock in which it occurs

an archaic word for widow (def. 1)

an archaic word for relic (def. 6)

Word Origin for relict

C16: from Latin relictus left behind, from relinquere to 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

relict

Origin of relict

Words nearby relict

Words related to relict

How to use relict in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for relict

Word Origin for relict