archaic

adjective

ar·cha·ic är-ˈkā-ik

: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses

an archaic word

Note: In this dictionary the label archaic is affixed to words and senses relatively common in earlier times but infrequently used in present-day English.

: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time : antiquated

archaic legal traditions

capitalized : of or belonging to the early or formative phases of a culture or a period of artistic development

especially : of or belonging to the period leading up to the classical period of Greek culture

: surviving from an earlier period

specifically : typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage

capitalized : of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time

archaically

är-ˈkā-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for archaic

old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete mean having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past.

old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence.

old houses

an old sweater of mine

ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past.

ancient accounts of dragons

venerable stresses the impressiveness and dignity of great age.

the family's venerable patriarch

antique applies to what has come down from a former or ancient time.

collected antique Chippendale furniture

antiquated implies being discredited or outmoded or otherwise inappropriate to the present time.

antiquated teaching methods

archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time.

the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period

obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence.

a computer that makes earlier models obsolete

Example Sentences

The author is a bluestocking, with a weakness for etymology and archaic religious texts, her body of work lauded for revealing the sacred in the ordinary.

Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review, 21 Dec. 2008 Europe's economic growth and productivity, Judt reminds us, for all the horror stories about archaic work regulations and inflexible labor markets, has remained impressive up to the current moment.

John T. McGreevy, Commonweal, 24 Mar. 2006 Between the upper limit of radiocarbon dating (about 50 ka) and the lower limit of radiogenic potassium dating (about 0.5 Ma) there used to exist a chronological lacuna that I call the Gap. This temporal range encompasses the transition of archaic humans into fully modern forms, so the lack of a reliable means of dating fossils from the Gap was disconcerting.

Ervan G. Garrison, Physics Today, October 2001 The company needs to update its archaic computer systems.

Recent Examples on the Web An investment in ATMs may seem almost as archaic as the TYME name itself.

Karl Ebert, Journal Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2022 The world needs to understand that there are millions of women in Iran who wholeheartedly believe in the virtue of their hijabs, but detest its mandatory enforcement by the violent and archaic policies of the regime.

Tara Kangarlou, Time, 19 Sep. 2022 How strange this process, how archaic and theatrical, moving and melancholy, mixing the worlds of King Arthur and Netflix.

Tom Mctague, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2022 The story provides examples of both how to do it and how not to do it when existing rules are archaic and slow to change.

Brad Templeton, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Worrying about classes is an archaic way of thinking and should now be largely abolished with the advent of the NCAA Transfer Portal and the one-time transfer waiver.

Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Mar. 2022 The passage of Senate Bill 11 removed some archaic Prohibition-era laws to allow distilleries to open bars and restaurants to serve cocktails on site.

Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 26 Sep. 2022 Freyne argued that the monarchy was an archaic institution with no future.

Claire Parker, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2022 Freyne argued that the monarchy was an archaic institution with no future.

Claire Parker, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'archaic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

French or Greek; French archaïque, from Greek archaïkos, from archaios

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of archaic was in 1810

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Archaic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaic. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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Kids Definition

archaic

adjective

ar·cha·ic är-ˈkā-ik

: of, relating to, characteristic of, or surviving from an earlier time

especially : no longer in general use

the archaic words "methinks" and "saith"

Medical Definition

archaic

adjective

ar·cha·ic är-ˈkā-ik

: typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage

archaic features of a fossil skull

: having the characteristics of primitive humans and their animal forebears especially as represented in the unconscious and appearing in behavior as manifestations of the unconscious