English
archaic
Archaic may come from English archaism ‘ancient or obsolete phrase or expression’.
- English1500–presentarchaism‘ancient or obsolete phrase or expression’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1848archaic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- English1500–presentarchaism‘ancient or obsolete phrase or expression’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1848archaic
Earliest quotation: 1848, James Russel Lowell: “A person familiar with the dialect of certain portions…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek ἄρχω ‘to be first’
archive, archon, archenemy, 13 more
through Ancient Greek ἀρχή ‘beginning, origin’
Today it means
noun The prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘Paleo-Indian’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, etc.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / English archaism / archaic