ancient
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++an·cient1 /ˈeɪnʃənt/ ●●● W2 adjective 1 OLD/NOT NEWbelonging to a time long ago in history, especially thousands of years ago 古代的 OPP modern the ancient civilizations of Asia 亚洲的古代文明ancient Greece/Egypt/Rome the religion of ancient Egypt 古埃及宗教2 LONG TIMEhaving existed for a very long time 古老的，年代久远的 OPP new an ancient walled city 有城墙的古城 an ancient forest 一片古森林 the ancient art of calligraphy 古老的书法艺术3 OLD/NOT YOUNGvery old – used humorously 老的，老掉牙的〔幽默用法〕 That photo makes me look ancient! 那张照片显得我很老！► see thesaurus at old4 ancient history a) the history of ancient societies, such as Greece or Rome 古代史 a professor of ancient history 一位古代史教授 b) informal if you say that something is ancient history, you mean that it happened a long time ago and is not important now 很久以前的事，陈年往事〔指很久以前发生、现在已不重要的事〕 It’s all ancient history and I’m not upset anymore. 这都是陈年往事了，我不再生气了。
Examples from the Corpus
ancient• He's not just old, he's ancient.• Here are some recent piano releases for keyboards, solo and duo, ancient and modern.• Those assembled along the hill lines are keeping alive one of the world's most ancient and wide spread fertility rites.• The ancient Chinese believed that we are born with a finite amount of energy in our bodies called chi.• the pyramids of ancient Egypt• Doc drives an ancient Ford convertible.• an ancient Greek vase• Mum looks absolutely ancient in this picture.• This refrigerator is ancient -- it's time we bought a new one.• I prefer the more austere skeletons of the corals that live frugal, ancient lives in the deep sea.• This is a wonderful piece of ancient machinery of indeterminate age, and consists of a crank-driven triple piston pump.• Rome is famous for its ancient monuments.• Above the lip of the gorge he found traces of that ancient river bank.• The Samaritans have managed to keep only a few ancient texts.• The Great Forest is an ancient, vast and very varied woodland.• His conquests transformed the ancient world and ushered in the Hellenistic age of great monarchies.ancient Greece/Egypt/Rome• Unquestionably it was ancient Rome's greatest legacy to the medieval world, greater probably even than its literature and its poetry.• From ancient Rome to the Weimar Republic to the Carter presidency, regimes have been rotted by the monetary cancer called inflation.• Fifteen metres below the surface of a man-made lake, the unknown treasures of ancient Rome will be abandoned for ever.ancient2 noun the ancients [plural]OLD/NOT NEW people who lived long ago, especially the Greeks and Romans 古人〔尤指古希腊人和古罗马人〕 The ancients believed that the Sun and Moon were planets. 古人认为太阳和月亮都是行星。Examples from the Corpus
ancient• To even the earliest Western visitors, the odd, boxy letters evoked the ancients.• Was she, he wondered, trying to make another fire in the fashion of the ancients?• The best fuel of the ancients was wood.• The comets that streaked the skies and scared the ancients were powered by Fenna's breath.• Among the Copernicans there was exhilaration at the thought that man, in his astronomical understanding, had now surpassed the ancients.• According to the ancients, seven planets circle the sun, hence the seven dwarfs.• The ancients staged mock battles to parallel the tempests in nature and reduce their fear of gods who warred across the sky.Origin ancient1 (1300-1400) Old French ancien, from Vulgar Latin anteanus, from Latin ante “before”an·cient1 adjectiveancient2 nounChineseSyllable
in time ago Corpus a to long belonging
ancient
an‧cient1 W2 /ˈeɪnʃənt/ 
adjective
OPP modern:
the ancient civilizations of Asia
ancient Greece/Egypt/Rome
the religion of ancient Egypt
2. having existed for a very long time
OPP new:
an ancient walled city
an ancient forest
the ancient art of calligraphy
3. very old – used humorously:
That photo makes me look ancient__
4. ancient history
a. the history of ancient societies, such as Greece or Rome:
a professor of ancient history
b. informal if you say that something is ancient history, you mean that it happened a long time ago and is not important now:
It’s all ancient history and I’m not upset any more.
ancient2 noun
the ancients [plural] people who lived long ago, especially the Greeks and Romans:
The ancients believed that the Sun and Moon were planets.
| I |
adjective Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: ancien, from Vulgar Latin anteanus, from Latin ante 'before'
1. belonging to a time long ago in history, especially thousands of years ago Language: Old French
Origin: ancien, from Vulgar Latin anteanus, from Latin ante 'before'
OPP modern:
ancient Greece/Egypt/Rome
2. having existed for a very long time
OPP new:
3. very old – used humorously:
4. ancient history
a. the history of ancient societies, such as Greece or Rome:
b. informal if you say that something is ancient history, you mean that it happened a long time ago and is not important now:
| II |
nounthe ancients [plural] people who lived long ago, especially the Greeks and Romans: