archaic

Meanings

Noun

• A general term for the prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, &c.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
• (A member of) an archaic variety of Homo sapiens.

Adjective

• Of or characterized by antiquity; old-fashioned, quaint, antiquated.
• No longer in ordinary use, though still used occasionally to give a sense of antiquity and are still likely to be understood by well educated speakers and are found in historical texts.
• Belonging to the archaic period

Origin

• From archaism or from French archaïque, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊκός, from ἀρχαῖος, from ἀρχή, from ἄρχω, from ἄρχω, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- ("to begin, rule, command").