Of or characterized by antiquity or archaism; antiquated; obsolescent.
relating to an earlier time, usually more primitive; old, usually no longer practiced
adj. ancient or old-fashioned, and banished from the vocabulary of common speech. For example, "Thou art" is an archaic form or "you are."
so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period; "a ramshackle antediluvian tenement"; "antediluvian ideas"; "archaic laws"
little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type; "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"
(words, phrases) which are no longer used today (e.g. thee, thou = 'you')
No longer current or applicable; antiquated. Relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were once common but are now used chiefly to suggest an earlier style or period.
a word, or a meaning of a word, that fell into disuse long ago, and has characteristics of an older period, but would be understood by a well read person of today. Compare with ' obsolete below. This definition is currently under active debate in Wiktionary:Obsolete and Archaic Terms[ edit] = circa or about - often used in quotations. : common (in word genders)
The definition is no longer in general use, but still found in some contemporary texts (eg, the Bible). Examples: thee and thou (for you). Generally understood by educated people, but rarely used in current texts or speech. Compare with obsolete and dated . This definition is currently under active debate in Wiktionary:Obsolete and archaic terms[ edit