Ancient

(ān'shent), a. [Fr. ancien, Pr. ancian, Sp. anciano, It. anziano, L. Lat. antiquus, anteanus, from Lat. antea, ante, before.]

1Sense 1. Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; as, ancient authors; ancient days.

Witness those ancient empires of the earth. Milton.

Gildas Albanius . . . much ancienter than his namesake surnamed the Wise. Fuller.

2Sense 2. Old; that has been of long duration; of great age; advanced in years; as, an ancient forest; an ancient city.

An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for quarters. Scott.

3Sense 3. Known for a long time, or from early times; as, the ancient continent, opposed to the new continent.

A friend, perhaps, or an ancient acquaintance. Barrow.

4Sense 4. Dignified, like an aged man; stately; magisterial; venerable. [Obs.]

He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then would he seem very grave and ancient. Holland.

5Sense 5. Experienced; versed. [Obs.]

Though [he] was the youngest brother, yet he was the most ancient in the business of the realm. Berners.

Ancient lights (Law), window lights, which have been opened and enjoyed without molestation, and have become established by the legal time of prescription. Kent.

Synonyms—Old; primitive; pristine; antique; antiquated; old-fashioned; obsolete.—ANCIENT, ANTIQUATED, OBSOLETE, ANTIQUE, ANTIC, OLD. Ancient is opposed to modern, and has reference to antiquity; as, an ancient family, ancient landmarks, ancient institutions, systems of thought, &c. Antiquated describes that which has gone out of use or fashion; as, antiquated furniture, antiquated laws, rules, &c. Obsolete is commonly used, instead of antiquated, in reference to language, customs, &c.; as, an obsolete word or phrase, an obsolete expression. Antique is applied, in present usage, either to that which has come down from the ancients; as, an antique cameo, bust, &c.; or to that which is made to imitate some ancient work of art; as, an antique temple. In the days of Shakespeare, antique was often used for ancient; as, “an antique song,” “an antique Roman;” and hence, from the singularity often attached to what is ancient, it was used in the sense of grotesque; as, “an oak whose antique root peeps out;” and hence came our present word antic, denoting grotesque or ridiculous. We usually apply both ancient and old to things subject to gradual decay. We say, an old man, an ancient record; but never, the old sun, old stars, an old river or mountain. In general, however, ancient is opposed to modern, and old to new, fresh, or recent. When we speak of a thing that existed formerly, which has ceased to exist, we commonly use ancient; as, ancient republics, ancient heroes; and not, old republics, old heroes. But when the thing which began or existed in former times is still in existence, we use either ancient or old; as, ancient statues or paintings, or old statues or paintings, ancient authors, or old authors, meaning books.

n. 1. pl. Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns.

2Sense 2. pl. Very old men. Hence, (a.) Governors; rulers. “The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people.” Isa. iii. 13. (b.) (Eng. Law.) The oldest barristers of Gray’s Inn, and those lawyers who are past their readings, in the Middle Temple. The Inns of Chancery consist of ancients and students or clerks. Wharton. Tomlins.

3Sense 3. A senior; an elder. [Obs.]

Junius and Andronicus . . . in Christianity . . . were his ancients. Hooker.

4Sense 4. [Corrupted from ensign, q. v.] A flag. [Obs.]

More dishonorably ragged than an old-faced ancient. Shak.

5Sense 5. The bearer of a flag;—now called an ensign.

This is Othello’s ancient, as I take it. Shak.

Ancients, Council of (French Hist.), one of the two assemblies composing the legislative bodies in 1795. Brande.—Ancient demesne (Eng. Law), a tenure by which all manors belonging to the crown, in the reign of William the Conqueror, were held. The numbers, names, &c., of these were all entered in a book called Domesday Book. Cowell. Blackstone.