Main Entry:: ar·cha·ic
Pronunciation:: \är-ˈkā-ik\
Function:: adjective
Etymology:: French or Greek; French archaïque, from Greek archaïkos, from archaios
Date:: 1832

1: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses <an archaic word>2: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time : antiquated <archaic legal traditions>3capitalized : 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 culture4: surviving from an earlier period ; specifically : typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage5capitalized : of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time

synonyms see old

— ar·cha·i·cal·ly

\-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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