Word
archaic
Phoneticsar·cha·ic
US/ɑɹˈkeɪɪk/
UK/ɑːkˈeɪɪk/
Definitions
01old-fashioned or outdated
adj. very old and no longer useful or common in modern times.
adj. belonging to an earlier period and often surviving as a remnant; frequently used to describe systems, laws, or technology that feel out of place today.
“The company still uses an archaic filing system that relies on paper instead of computers.”
“Critics argued that the country's archaic legal framework was wholly inadequate for addressing the complexities of modern digital privacy.”
Formal
Synonyms
Antonyms
02old language
adj. describes words or styles of writing that people do not use anymore, except to sound old-fashioned.
adj. referring to vocabulary or grammatical structures that have fallen out of ordinary use but are retained for literary or historical effect.
“The word 'thee' is an archaic form of 'you' that we see in old poems.”
“The author employed archaic syntax to evoke the atmosphere of the seventeenth century, though it occasionally hindered the reader's comprehension.”
Technical · Literary
Usage
In linguistics, this is a specific label for words that are older than 'dated' but not yet 'obsolete'.
Synonyms
03ancient history
adj. relating to a very early period of history, especially in art or archaeology.
adj. relating to a specific early stage of a culture's development, particularly the period in Greek history before the Classical era.
“The museum has a beautiful collection of archaic Greek statues.”
“Archaeologists identified the pottery shards as belonging to the Archaic period, noting the transition toward more naturalistic human figures.”
Academic · Technical
04the Archaic period
n. a specific time in very early history, especially in North America.
n. a chronological stage in the history of the Americas, typically following the Paleo-Indian period and preceding the Woodland period.
“During the Archaic, people began to settle in one place for longer periods.”
“The transition from the Paleo-Indian to the Archaic is marked by significant changes in foraging strategies and tool technology.”
Academic · Technical · American English
Real-World Examples
“All forms of language, high and low, archaic and modern, are here.” “Andy Burnham has said that he intends to scrap “archaic” laws that prevent a Catholic or Jewish PM from advising the king on church appointments.” “These old space station studies now look completely archaic," says David Baker, editor of Spaceflight magazine and a former Nasa engineer who worked on the concepts.” “The word "whom" sounds archaic so there's no need to worry about who and whom, he says.”