different between classical vs ancient
classical
English
Etymology
See classic § Etymology for history; surface analysis, class +? -ical = class + -ic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?klæs?kl?/
- Hyphenation: clas?si?cal
Adjective
classical (comparative more classical, superlative most classical)
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
- Of or pertaining to established principles in a discipline.
- (music) Describing Western music and musicians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
- (informal, music) Describing art music (rather than pop, jazz, blues, etc), especially when played using instruments of the orchestra.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds.
- 1853, Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Atterbury, Francis" in Encyclopædia Britannica (8th ed.). Dated through The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, page 344
- He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college.
- 1853, Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Atterbury, Francis" in Encyclopædia Britannica (8th ed.). Dated through The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, page 344
- Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined
- classical dance.
- 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume 1, page 151.
- Classical, provincial, and national synods.
- (physics) Pertaining to models of physical laws that do not take quantum or relativistic effects into account; Newtonian or Maxwellian.
- (cryptography) In contrast to quantum computing; pertaining to cryptographic algorithms that are not designed to resist attack by quantum computers, or cryptanalysis that does not take quantum computer capabilities into account. In some contexts may instead refer to older cryptographic algorithms, e.g. classical ciphers.
Usage notes
Various usage advisers give various prescriptions for differentiating classic from classical by word sense distinctions and by collocational idiomaticness (that is, according to the way in which certain collocations tend to use one suffix more than the other idiomatically). For example (as pointed out by various authorities, including Bryan Garner in Garner's Modern English Usage, fourth edition), classical tends to be preferred in the sense referring to "the classics" (in ancient literature, modern literature, or music), although classic also sometimes serves in this sense. For copyeditorially inclined users of English, it is useful to know the twin pair of descriptive facts that apply to many usage prescriptions: the prescriptions are not invariably followed in respectable formal writing, but nonetheless it is widely considered preferable style to avoid flouting them.
Synonyms
- classic (see Usage notes regarding differentiation.)
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
classical (countable and uncountable, plural classicals)
- (countable) One that is classical in some way; for example, a classical economist.
- 2002, James E Hartley, James E. Hartley, The Representative Agent in Macroeconomics, Routledge (?ISBN), page 120:
- Similarly, the new classicals never claimed to be Austrians, nor did they ever make the attempt to meet Austrian objections. Therefore, we cannot fault them for not using this methodology. Nevertheless, new classicals constantly preach […]
- 2002, James E Hartley, James E. Hartley, The Representative Agent in Macroeconomics, Routledge (?ISBN), page 120:
- (uncountable) Short for classical music.
Further reading
- classical in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- classical at OneLook Dictionary Search
- classical, classic at Google Ngram Viewer
classical From the web:
- what classical song is this
- what classical era accompaniment technique
- what classical music is public domain
- what classical conditioning
- what classical musician was deaf
- what classical song am i thinking of
- what classical music does to the brain
ancient
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?e?n.(t)??nt/
Etymology 1
From Middle English auncyen, borrowed from Old French ancien (“old”), from Vulgar Latin root *anteanus, from Latin ante (“before”). Compare antique.
Alternative forms
- anchient, aunchient, auncient, auntient, awncient, awntient (obsolete)
- antient (obsolete outside freemasonry)
Adjective
ancient (comparative ancienter or more ancient, superlative ancientest or most ancient)
- Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old.
- Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.
- (historical) Relating to antiquity as a primarily European historical period; the time before the Middle Ages.
- (obsolete) Experienced; versed.
- 1550, Thomas Cranmer, A Defence of the True and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ; with a Confutation of sundry Errors concerning the same, grounded and stablished upon God's Holy Word, and approved by the consent of the most ancient Doc. tors of the Church
- approved by the consent of the moste ancient doctors of the Churche [part of the book title]
- 1550, Thomas Cranmer, A Defence of the True and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ; with a Confutation of sundry Errors concerning the same, grounded and stablished upon God's Holy Word, and approved by the consent of the most ancient Doc. tors of the Church
- (obsolete) Former; sometime.
Synonyms
- (very old): aged, eldern, hoary; see also Thesaurus:old
Antonyms
- modern
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
ancient (plural ancients)
- A person who is very old.
- A person who lived in ancient times.
- (Britain, law) One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.
- (obsolete) A senior; an elder; a predecessor.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- Junius and Andronicus […] in Christianity […] were his ancients.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
Synonyms
- (person who is very old): geriatric, oldster, senior citizen; see also Thesaurus:old person
- (person who lived in ancient times): antique
- (predecessor): antecessor, forerunner; see also Thesaurus:predecessor
Etymology 2
Corruption of ensign.
Noun
ancient (plural ancients)
- (heraldry, archaic) A flag, banner, standard or ensign.
- 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- I got all things ready as he had directed, and waited the next morning with the boat washed clean, her ancient and pendants out, and everything to accommodate his guests..
- 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- (obsolete, rare) the bearer of a flag; ensign
References
- The Manual of Heraldry, Fifth Edition, by Anonymous, London, 1862, online at [2]
- ancient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- ancient in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- ancient at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- cantine, catenin, enactin
ancient From the web:
- what ancient civilization lived on crete
- what ancient civilization went to war with troy
- what ancient egypt looked like
- what ancient egyptian sounded like
- what ancient cultures influenced the renaissance
- what ancient rome looked like
- what ancient civilization lived in mexico
- what ancient means
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