Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Belonging to, made in, or typical of an earlier period: synonym: old.
  • adjective Of or belonging to ancient times, especially of, from, or characteristic of ancient Greece or Rome.
  • adjective Relating to or dealing in antiques.
  • adjective Having the appearance of an antique.
  • adjective Old-fashioned; outdated.
  • noun An object having special value because of its age, especially a domestic item or piece of furniture or handicraft esteemed for its artistry, beauty, or period of origin.
  • noun The style or manner of ancient times, especially that of ancient Greek or Roman art.
  • intransitive verb To give the appearance of an antique to.
  • intransitive verb To hunt or shop for antiques.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having existed in ancient times; belonging to or having come down from antiquity; ancient: often specifically referring to Greece and Rome: as, an antique statue.
  • Belonging to former times, as contrasted with modern; having the form and characteristics of an earlier day; of old fashion: as, an antique robe.
  • Fantastic; fanciful; odd; wild; antic. See antic, 4.
  • In bookbinding, embossed without gold.
  • noun The style or manner of ancient times, specifically of Greek and Roman antiquity: used especially of art. In this sense used only in the singular, and preceded by the definite article: as, fond of the antique; copied from the antique.
  • noun Any relic of antiquity; specifically, an example of Greek or Roman art, especially in sculpture.
  • noun The name given by American type-founders to a style of type of thick and bold face, of the regular Roman model, in which all lines are of equal or nearly equal thickness: called Egyptian by British type-founders.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Old; ancient; of genuine antiquity. In this sense it usually refers to the flourishing ages of Greece and Rome.
  • adjective Old, as respects the present age, or a modern period of time; of old fashion; antiquated.
  • adjective Made in imitation of antiquity.”
  • adjective Odd; fantastic.
  • noun In general, anything very old; but in a more limited sense, a relic or object of ancient art; collectively, the antique, the remains of ancient art, as busts, statues, paintings, and vases.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Old, used especially of furniture and household items; out of date.
  • noun An old piece of furniture, household item, or other similar item.
  • noun figuratively, mildly pejorative An old person.
  • verb intransitive To shop for antiques; to search for antiques.
  • verb transitive To make an object appear to be an antique in some way.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age
  • noun any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity
  • adjective out of fashion
  • verb give an antique appearance to
  • adjective belonging to or lasting from times long ago
  • verb shop for antiques
  • noun an elderly man

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Latin antīquus; see ant- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French antique ("ancient, old"), from Latin antiquus ("former, earlier, ancient, old"), from ante ("before"); see ante- and antic.

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Examples

  • When people hear the term antique art, people usually think of paintings.

    MyLinkVault Newest Links 2009

  • Horchow is a design company specialized in antique decorating ideas.

    Fire Screens that Present the Skylines of London and Rome 2010

  • From that point forward I made an effort to look inside old cameras whenever we would stop in antique stores and Sunday flea markets.

    Mango Falls | clusterflock 2009

  • Quite a few of these old booklets can still be found in antique stores, or online bookstores.

    Archive 2009-06-01 2009

  • My first and second job was working in antique malls.

    Forkbot (link roundup) 2010

  • Quite a few of these old booklets can still be found in antique stores, or online bookstores.

    Tribute to Helen 2009

  • I was wondering where you get teacups like this, as I don't usually see them in antique stores.

    Crinoline Lady Craft 2008

  • When you say you want to "trace", are you trying to ID the locations in antique photos you have?

    The most dysfunctional doorway in Venice 2008

  • (I still need to get the stickers off the front; way to ruin antique furniture, five-year-old me.)

    i'm not easy but i'm true tragic_elegance 2008

  • I don't collect it any more as I have a large number of pieces and it's rarely encountered any more in American antique shops, having become, as they say, "very collectible" with prices soaring to match.

    Archive 2009-07-01 Will 2009

Comments

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  • something "before"

    July 23, 2007