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Archaic

Belonging to an earlier time; very old-fashioned or outdated; no longer in general use.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine stepping into a medieval library where books are written in long-forgotten spellings and the shelves are carved with ancient arches, making you feel you’ve stepped into a time long past.

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Sounds Like

ar-KAY-ik

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Looks Like

Visually resembles other archaic terms and often shares the root arch- relating to ancient times

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Remember This

The root arch- appears in many words about the past (archaeology, archive). Archaic comes from Greek archaios meaning ancient, from arkhe meaning beginning or origin.

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Other Forms

archaicallyadverb

archaismnoun

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Connect With

ancient, antique, obsolete, old-fashioned; archaism, archaeology, archive, antiquity

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Note

Archaic describes language, objects, or ideas that belong to an earlier period and are no longer current. It implies obsolescence and historical dating rather than mere antiquity. Distinguish from simply 'ancient' when the sense is that something is outdated or no longer used.

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Study Deeper

Examples

In the manuscript, the scribe used archaic spellings that modern readers would not recognize.
The contract contained archaic terms that are no longer used in contemporary law.

Synonyms

antiquatedobsoleteold-fashionedancient

Antonyms

moderncontemporarycurrent

Etymology

From Latin archaicus, via Old French archaïque, from Greek arkhaikos 'ancient', from arkhe 'beginning, origin'. The root arkhe underlies arch- meanings such as 'chief' or 'first'.

Mnemonic

ARCHAIC: Think ARCH as an ancient doorway. An arch leading to the past reminds you that archaic means old or ancient.