antique, antique

& s. [In Ger. antik, a., antike, s.; Fr. antique, a. & s.; Ital. antico, s. From Lat. antiquus = former, old, ancient; ante before.] A. As adjective: 1. Ancient, old, that has long existed. It may be used (a) in the geological sense = of an age measured by millions of years; or (b) historically prior to the birth of Christ; or (c) med iæval; or (d) having been long in existence compared with others of its kind. [ANCIENT, ANTIQUITY.] a rock very different ent in in age age from the antique and crystalline gnei of Scotland and Scand in a via,"-Murchison: Siluria , ch. xiv. "The seals which we have remaining of Julius Caesar, which we know to be antique , have the star of Venus over them."-Dryden. Huge convent domes with pinnacles and towers, And antique castles seen through drizzling showers." Words worth: Descriptive Sketches. 2. Old-fashioned, antiquated. "The first, if I remember, is a sort of a buff waistcoat, made antique fashion,."-Goldsmith: The Bee , No. ii. 3. Odd, antic. (See ANTIC, which was originally the same word as antique .) "And sooner may a gulling weather-spy, By drawing forth heav'n's scheme, tell certainly, What fashion'd hats, or ruffs, or suits, next year Our giddy-headed antique youth will wear. Donne. B. As substantive, it is frequently used in the plural ANTIQUES = such busts, statues, vases, ., as have come down from cla ic antiquity, and are prized for their value as works of genius and art no le than for the light they throw on the life of the old world. "Mi hapen monuments and maim d antiques.' Byron: Eng. Bards & Scotch Reviewers, tăn-tîque-ly, adv . [Eng. antique ; -ly.] In an antique manner; after the manner of antiquity. ( Webster .) ăn-tique-ne , s. The quality of being antique. [Eng. antique; -ne .] "We may discover something venerable in the We may discover something antiquene of the