Archaic

Quick meaning: Archaic is a noun meaning (paleoanthropology) (A member of) an archaic variety of Homo sapiens.

Meaning

(paleoanthropology) (A member of) an archaic variety of Homo sapiens.

More Meanings

1. Of or characterized by antiquity; old-fashioned, quaint, antiquated.
2. (archaeology) Belonging to the archaic period.
3. (archaeology, US, usually capitalized) The prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, etc.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
4. (chiefly lexicography, of words) No longer in ordinary use, though still used occasionally to give a sense of antiquity and still likely to be understood by well-educated speakers and are found in historical texts.

Example Sentences

Brann's compass of words, idioms and phrases harks back to the archaic and reaches forward to the futuristic. Volume 1

The language of the Faerie Queene was made archaic Language:— in order to be in keeping with the chivalry of bygone ages that formed its subject.

… Archaic Stage … the stage of migratory hunting and gathering cultures continuing into environmental conditions approximately those of the present.

There is in the best archaic coin work [of the Greeks] ... a strength and a delicacy which are often wanting in the fully developed art of a later age.

Word Forms

• archaics
• archaick
• archaeic

Synonyms for archaic

Depending on context, synonyms include dated, obsolete, old fashioned, primitive, antiquated, old.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include antediluvian, old, antiquated, primitive, early, paleoindian.

Related Dictionary Tools