Antiquities

How to spell antiquities

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce antiquities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does antiquities mean?

1. nounObjects, relics, or buildings surviving from ancient times, especially those of historical or archaeological interest.

Antiquities in a sentence

• The museum devoted an entire wing to Roman antiquities recovered from the harbour.

• Smuggling looted antiquities across the border carries a heavy prison sentence.

Where does antiquities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin antiquus, meaning 'old' or 'ancient', which itself was built on the preposition ante, meaning 'before'. From antiquus the Romans formed the noun antiquitas, used for great age and for the times of long ago. The word travelled into English through Old French antiquite during the 1300s, at first meaning simply old age or the distant past. Over the following centuries the plural sense narrowed to refer specifically to objects, ruins, and relics surviving from ancient civilisations, the sort displayed in a museum. The buried 'qu' spelling, pronounced 'kw', comes straight from the Latin and is the main reason writers stumble; it helps to remember the everyday relative 'antique', which keeps the same antiqu- core.

How the word is built

• antiqu- (from Latin antiquus: ancient, from ante: before)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix: state or quality)
• -es (plural)