archaic

  1. Noun.  (context, archaeology) A general term for the prehistoric period intermediate between the earliest period (‘[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Indian Paleo-Indian]’, ‘Paleo-American’, ‘American‐paleolithic’, ''&c''.) of human presence in the Western Hemisphere, and the most recent prehistoric period (‘Woodland’, etc.)..
  2. Noun.  (context, paleoanthropology) (A member of) an archaic variety of ''Homo sapiens''.
  3. Adjective.  Of or characterized by antiquity; old-fashioned, quaint, antiquated.
  4. Adjective.  (context, of words) No longer in ordinary use, though still used occasionally to give a sense of antiquity.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.