antiquity

noun an·tiq·ui·ty \ an-ˈti-kwə-tē \

Definition of antiquity

plural antiquities

1 :ancient times; especially :those before the Middle Ages

a town that dates from antiquity

2 :the quality of being ancient

a castle of great antiquity

3 antiquities plural

a :relics or monuments (such as coins, statues, or buildings) of ancient times

a museum of Greek antiquities

b :matters relating to the life or culture of ancient times

the study of Germanic antiquities

4 :the people of ancient times

records left by antiquity

See antiquity defined for English-language learners

See antiquity defined for kids

Examples of antiquity in a Sentence

The town dates from antiquity.
A palace stood here in antiquity.
a museum of Roman antiquities

Recent Examples of antiquity from the Web

Other collection highlights include antiquities, coins and historic musical instruments.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "Seven Must-See Museums in Austria," 14 Aug. 2017
In antiquity, the influence of the moon on earthbound life was intuited—and celebrated.

— ben huberman, Longreads, "Corals and Crabs Get Moonstruck, Too," 10 Aug. 2017
The exhibit was curated by Sara Cole, who got her doctorate from Yale and now is a curatorial assistant in the antiquities department at the Getty Museum.

— susan dunne, courant.com, "Ancient Glass Exhibit At Yale University Art Gallery," 7 Aug. 2017
Nintendo 1 Peach Peach, the perennial princess abductee in Nintendo's Mario series, is the quintessential damsel in distress, a controversial trope that's existed in forms of pop culture since antiquity.

— lisa eadicicco, Time, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters," 30 June 2017
Thus, Bannon’s veneration of the good ol’ days of antiquity is hardly unique.

— alex siquig, GQ, "Steve Bannon's Favorite Ancient Greeks," 27 June 2017
New Mexico's top law enforcement officer is asking Fenn, the author and antiquities dealer who inspired thousands to comb remote corners of the West in vain for a chest of gold and jewels, to end the treasure hunt.

— bill hanna, star-telegram, "Quest for buried treasure ends in death for former Grapevine youth pastor," 21 June 2017
Tyrannosaurus rex – the tyrant king lizard, prize fighter of antiquity, most apex of apex predators, and supremely fluffy destroyer of dino fans dreams.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Long Live the Fuzzy T. rex," 14 June 2017
In antiquity, they were often interpreted as omens of doom, but the eclipse that occurred over the American West in 1878 signified the young nation's arrival as a global scientific power.

— andrea gawrylewski, Scientific American, "Daring Apollo 8 Astronauts, Rediscovering a Forgotten Math Genius and Other New Science Books," 22 May 2017

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