English Dictionary

Definition of “relic”

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relic (ˈrɛlɪk)

Definitions

noun

something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom
something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake
(usually plural) a remaining part or fragment
Roman Catholic Church Eastern Churches part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy
informal an old or old-fashioned person or thing
(plural) archaic the remains of a dead person; corpse
ecology a less common term for relict (sense 1)

Word Origin

C13: from Old French relique , from Latin reliquiae remains, from relinquere to leave behind, relinquish

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry

= remnant, vestige, memento, trace, survival, scrap, token, fragment, souvenir, remembrance, keepsake,

= remains, bones, sacred objects holy objects

Usage examples

Nick half-turned and saw that the relic of a rifle had blown up on its first firing.
Thomas, Rosie, The White Dove (1986)
Identifying a strange archaeological relic... Available for sale
New Scientist (2004)
But she believes the law is a relic of a time when men put women on a pedestal and denied them basic rights.
canada.com (2005)
Nor does he want to keep wigs for civil cases - a " relic of the past".
Times, Sunday Times (2002)
Let us worship at the temple of Nature; the skull is our holy relic.
Carroll, John, Humanism - The Wreck of Western Culture (1993)

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