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| an·cient [ áynshənt ] |
adjective |
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| Definition: |
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1. old: very old
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2. of distant past: belonging to the distant past, especially to the time before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in ad 476
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noun (plural an·cients) |
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| Definition: |
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1. somebody from past civilization: a member of a civilization of the distant past
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2. somebody of advanced years: a very mature or venerable person
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plural noun an·cients |
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| Definition: |
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1. people of ancient Western civilizations: the people who lived in one of the ancient civilizations, especially Greece and Rome
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2. ancient Greek and Roman authors: the authors of ancient Greece and Rome, whose writings form the basis of the classics as a subject of study
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| [14th century. Via French ancien< assumed Vulgar Latin anteanus< Latin ante "before"] |
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  an·cient·ly adverb |
| an·cient·ness noun |
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