mediaeval
mediaeval — adjective
1. belonging to or coming from the period in European history roughly between AD 10
belonging to or coming from the period in European history roughly between AD 1000 and AD 1450, known as the Middle Ages.
Esme studied mediaeval art history at the University of Edinburgh.
attributive: mediaeval + noun (academic subject)
The cathedral in York contains beautiful mediaeval stained-glass windows.
collocation: mediaeval cathedral / window / castle
Camille spent her holiday visiting mediaeval villages in the Loire valley.
Some of the oldest mediaeval manuscripts are kept in the British Library.
The castle walls in Conwy date back to mediaeval times.
- modern
covers the contrasting period from roughly the 16th century onwards
文法句型
mediaeval + noun
be + mediaeval
用法筆記
Chiefly British spelling; American English and most modern publications use 'medieval'. The two forms mean the same thing and are interchangeable in writing.
常見錯誤
2. old-fashioned, harsh, or out of step with the modern world — used to criticise a
old-fashioned, harsh, or out of step with the modern world — used to criticise an attitude, rule, or practice as if it belonged to a less enlightened age.
Liang said his grandfather's views on marriage were almost mediaeval.
figurative: criticising outdated attitudes
The prison's punishment rules struck Minh as mediaeval and unfair.
predicative use after striking-verbs (strike / seem / sound)
Ryan called the firm's strict dress code mediaeval after the summer heatwave.
Hassan thought the company's no-laptop policy was utterly mediaeval.
- archaic
more formal; emphasises being outdated rather than harsh
- barbaric
stronger — implies cruelty, not just old-fashioned thinking
- antiquated
neutral on cruelty; just stresses being no longer in use
- progressive
describes attitudes that move with or ahead of current thinking
- enlightened
more formal opposite — implies reason and tolerance
文法句型
mediaeval + noun (figurative)
be + mediaeval
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this figurative use is always evaluative and negative, and the speaker is not really claiming the rule comes from the Middle Ages. Sense 1 describes the historical period neutrally.
常見錯誤
mediaeval — noun
1. a person who lived during the Middle Ages — mostly found in historical, academic
a person who lived during the Middle Ages — mostly found in historical, academic, or literary writing.
Sivan's thesis explored how the mediaevals understood the night sky.
plural: the mediaevals as a group of historical people
To a mediaeval, a comet was often read as a warning from heaven.
singular with indefinite article in academic prose
Shirin argued that the mediaevals were far more inventive than modern readers assume.
Many mediaevals never travelled more than a day's walk from their village.
- medieval
the standard American spelling of the same noun
文法句型
a / the + mediaeval
the mediaevals (plural)
用法筆記
Almost always plural ('the mediaevals'); the singular is unusual outside academic writing. Most contexts prefer the phrase 'mediaeval people' or 'people in the Middle Ages'.