ancient

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. aged, venerable; antique, antiquated; archaic, hoary. See age, oldness.Ant., recent, modern, new.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Very old]

Syn. antique, antiquated, aged; see old 1 , 2 , 3 , old-fashioned .

2. [Belonging to the early history of the world]

Syn. classical, Biblical, early; see classical 2 , old 3 . Ancient cultures of the Western world include: Roman, Greek, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Israelite, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, Chaldean, Etruscan, Carthaginian, Babylonian, Phoenician, Mesopotamian, Assyrian, Persian.

See Synonym Study at old .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

old, aged, venerable, primitive, primordial, antiquated, prehistoric, antediluvian, primeval, timeworn, immemorial, outmoded, fossilized, archaic, *old as the hills, early.

ANT.: new, fresh, young, contemporary. see age, old, old age

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Belonging to, existing, or occurring in times long past: age-old, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, archaic, hoary, old, olden, old-time, timeworn, venerable. Idioms: old as Methuselah, old as the hills. See NEW. 2. Of, existing, or occurring in a distant period: antediluvian, early, primitive. See START. 3. Long past: high, immemorial. See NEW. II noun An elderly person: elder, golden ager, senior, senior citizen. Informal: oldster, old-timer. See YOUTH.