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Ancient vs. Contemporary

Ancient and Contemporary Definitions

Ancient

Of, relating to, or belonging to times long past, especially before the fall of the Western Roman Empire (AD 476)
Ancient cultures.

Contemporary

Belonging to the same period of time
A fact documented by two contemporary sources.

Ancient

Of great age; very old
"The males live up to six months—positively ancient, for a bee" (Elizabeth Royte).

Contemporary

Of about the same age.

Ancient

(Archaic) Having the qualities associated with age, wisdom, or long use; venerable
"You seem a sober, ancient Gentleman by your habit" (Shakespeare).

Contemporary

Current; modern
Contemporary trends in design.
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Ancient

A very old person.

Contemporary

One of the same time or age
Shelley and Keats were contemporaries.

Ancient

A person who lived in times long past.

Contemporary

A person of the present age.

Ancient

The peoples of the classical nations of antiquity.

Contemporary

From the same time period, coexistent in time; contemporaneous.
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Ancient

The ancient Greek and Roman authors.

Contemporary

Modern, of the present age (shorthand for ‘contemporary with the present’).

Ancient

(Archaic) An ensign; a flag.

Contemporary

Someone or something living at the same time, or of roughly the same age as another.
Cervantes was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
The early mammals inherited the earth by surviving their saurian contemporaries.

Ancient

(Obsolete) A flag-bearer or lieutenant.

Contemporary

Something existing at the same time.
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Ancient

Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old.
An ancient city
An ancient forest

Contemporary

(dated) A rival newspaper or magazine.

Ancient

Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern.
An ancient author
An ancient empire

Contemporary

Living, occuring, or existing, at the same time; done in, or belonging to, the same times; contemporaneous.
This king [Henry VIII.] was contemporary with the greatest monarchs of Europe.

Ancient

(history) Relating to antiquity as a primarily European historical period; the time before the Middle Ages.

Contemporary

Of the same age; coeval.
A grove born with himself he sees,And loves his old contemporary trees.

Ancient

(obsolete) Experienced; versed.

Contemporary

One who lives at the same time with another; as, Petrarch and Chaucer were contemporaries.

Ancient

(obsolete) Former; sometime.

Contemporary

A person of nearly the same age as another.

Ancient

A person who is very old.

Contemporary

A person of nearly the same age as another

Ancient

A person who lived in ancient times.

Contemporary

Characteristic of the present;
Contemporary trends in design
The role of computers in modern-day medicine

Ancient

One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.

Contemporary

Belonging to the present time;
Contemporary leaders

Ancient

(obsolete) A senior; an elder; a predecessor.

Contemporary

Occurring in the same period of time;
A rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation
The composer Salieri was contemporary with Mozart

Ancient

A flag, banner, standard or ensign.

Ancient

The bearer of a flag; ensign

Ancient

Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; belonging to times long past; specifically applied to the times before the fall of the Roman empire; - opposed to modern; as, ancient authors, literature, history; ancient days.
Witness those ancient empires of the earth.
Gildas Albanius . . . much ancienter than his namesake surnamed the Wise.

Ancient

Old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle.
Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set.
An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for quarters.

Ancient

Known for a long time, or from early times; - opposed to recent or new; as, the ancient continent.
A friend, perhaps, or an ancient acquaintance.

Ancient

Dignified, like an aged man; magisterial; venerable.
He wrought but some few hours of the day, and then would he seem very grave and ancient.

Ancient

Experienced; versed.
Though [he] was the youngest brother, yet he was the most ancient in the business of the realm.

Ancient

Former; sometime.
They mourned their ancient leader lost.

Ancient

Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns.

Ancient

An aged man; a patriarch. Hence: A governor; a ruler; a person of influence.
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof.

Ancient

A senior; an elder; a predecessor.
Junius and Andronicus . . . in Christianity . . . were his ancients.

Ancient

One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery.

Ancient

An ensign or flag.
More dishonorable ragged than an old-faced ancient.

Ancient

The bearer of a flag; an ensign.
This is Othello's ancient, as I take it.

Ancient

Belonging to times long past especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire;
Ancient history
Ancient civilizations such as those of the Etruscans and Sumerians
Ancient Greece

Ancient

Very old;
An ancient mariner

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