antiquities
antiquities — noun
- antiquitiessingular
- antiquitiesesplural
1. the period of history before the Middle Ages, stretching back to the earliest kn
the period of history before the Middle Ages, stretching back to the earliest known civilisations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and beyond
Gita wrote her thesis on marriage customs in antiquity.
in antiquity (time-period pattern)
Mathieu visited ruins in Athens that date back to antiquity.
date back to antiquity
The philosopher Mira admired the thinkers of classical antiquity.
Dr. Nasrin visited the Istanbul archive to study how voting began in antiquity.
Hamza's lecture compared medicine in antiquity with modern practices.
- ancient times
more everyday and less formal
- the ancient world
emphasises the civilisations and cultures rather than just the time span
- classical era
refers specifically to ancient Greece and Rome, a narrower period
- modernity
the present or recent historical period
文法句型
in antiquity
classical antiquity
late antiquity
用法筆記
Always uncountable when referring to the historical period. Frequently appears with modifiers like 'classical', 'late', or 'Greek'. The singular form 'antiquity' is used; the plural 'antiquities' belongs to sense 2.
常見錯誤
2. a physical item — for example a statue, a piece of jewellery, or a building — th
a physical item — for example a statue, a piece of jewellery, or a building — that has survived from a very old period of history, especially from the time of ancient Greece, Rome, or Egypt
Eshe bought a small Egyptian antiquity at the Cairo market.
countable singular: an antiquity
The museum displays Greek and Roman antiquities in a special gallery.
plural: antiquities
Jisoo inherited a collection of Chinese antiquities from her grandfather.
Sophia carefully examined the antiquity before placing a bid at auction.
Smugglers tried to take priceless antiquities out of the country illegally.
- modern object
something made recently, not from the distant past
文法句型
an antiquity
collect antiquities
a collection of antiquities
用法筆記
Usually plural ('antiquities') when talking about collections or groups of ancient objects. The singular ('an antiquity') refers to one item. Distinguish from 'antique': an antique is typically a few hundred years old; an antiquity comes from a civilisation thousands of years ago.
常見錯誤
3. the condition of being extremely old; having existed for a very long span of tim
the condition of being extremely old; having existed for a very long span of time
Hana stood before the stone carvings in the Kyoto temple, stunned by their great antiquity.
of great antiquity (quality pattern)
Eli questioned the antiquity of the manuscript found in the cave.
the antiquity of [something]
Dr. Osei placed the wooden statue under the lab scanner but could not confirm its true antiquity.
The temple's antiquity made it one of the oldest sites in the region.
Constanza argued that its antiquity alone did not make it valuable.
- ancientness
less common and more direct; rarely used in everyday speech
- oldness
informal and less precise; can refer to any degree of age
- age
much broader term; can describe anything from recent to ancient
- newness
the quality of being recently made or created
文法句型
of great antiquity
of considerable antiquity
the antiquity of
用法筆記
Always uncountable. Refers to the quality of being ancient, not the time period itself. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 names a historical era ('in antiquity'), while sense 3 describes the age of a specific thing ('the antiquity of the vase').