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ancient

/ˈeɪnʃənt/adjective

उच्चारण एन्शन्ट

प्राचीन

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adjective
  1. 1

    belonging to a period of history that is thousands of years in the past

    प्राचीन

    • the ancient civilizations of India and Egypt
    • Ancient Indians made remarkable progress in mathematics and astronomy.
    • Ancient Indian scholars wrote about astronomy and medicine.
    + 2 more examples
    • The museum has coins from ancient times.
    • Students of history study ancient trade routes.

    Synonyms old antique

    Opposite modern recent

  2. 2

    very old; having existed for a very long time

    बहुत पुराना

    • an ancient banyan tree
    • My grandfather still wears the ancient watch he got on his wedding day.
    • The ancient well in the village still gives clean water.
    + 2 more examples
    • He lives in an ancient house with thick stone walls.
    • This ancient tradition is passed from mother to daughter.

    Synonyms age-old

    Opposite new

§Structures (grammar patterns) 5

ancient + noun

Ancient goes before a noun: ancient history, ancient temple.

'Ancient' noun से पहले आता है: ancient history, ancient temple।

  • We visited an ancient fort in Rajasthan.

the ancient (plural) / the ancients

The ancients means people of very early civilisations.

'The ancients' का अर्थ अति प्राचीन सभ्यताओं के लोग हैं।

  • The ancients studied the stars.

ancient for things / old for general use

Ancient is for the distant past; for ordinary old things, use old.

'Ancient' सुदूर अतीत के लिए है; सामान्य पुरानी चीज़ों के लिए 'old' लगाइए।

  • Ancient India saw great universities.

ancient history / ancient India

Ancient followed by a place name refers to its early period, usually before the Middle Ages.

Ancient के बाद स्थान का नाम आने पर यह उसके आरंभिक काल को दर्शाता है, प्रायः मध्यकाल से पहले के।

  • Ancient India had universities at Takshashila and Nalanda.

antique / antiquity / archaic

Antique is an old object of value; antiquity is the ancient past; archaic is out of date.

Antique मूल्यवान पुरानी वस्तु है; antiquity प्राचीन काल है; archaic अप्रचलित है।

  • The shop sells antique brass lamps.
  • The temple is a monument of antiquity.
  • Thou is an archaic word.
+Collocations 4

ancient + noun

civilisationmonumentscripturecitycustom

  • The Indus Valley is an ancient civilisation.

adverb + ancient

trulyincrediblyalmostpositively

  • The banyan tree looks incredibly ancient.

ancient + noun (time)

timeshistoryworldRomeEgypt

  • Ancient history is a popular exam topic.

ancient + noun (culture)

artscriptritualtextruinswisdom

  • Scholars studied the ancient script on the pillar.
“More examples 5
  • Kashi is one of the most ancient living cities.

काशी सबसे प्राचीन जीवित नगरों में से एक है।

  • He lives in an ancient house by the river.

वह नदी के किनारे एक पुराने घर में रहता है।

  • Ancient wisdom is still valued today.

प्राचीन ज्ञान का मूल्य आज भी है।

  • Radhika is reading about ancient Greece.

राधिका प्राचीन यूनान के बारे में पढ़ रही है।

  • That ancient bus broke down again.

वह खटारा बस फिर बिगड़ गई।

!Common mistakes 3

✗ My ancient grandfather is eighty.

✓ My old grandfather is eighty.

Ancient describes the very distant past, and calling a living person ancient is rude unless it is a joke.

'Ancient' सुदूर अतीत का वर्णन करता है, और किसी जीवित व्यक्ति को 'ancient' कहना, मज़ाक के सिवा, अशिष्टता है।

✗ It is an ancient and very old tradition.

✓ It is an ancient tradition.

Ancient already means very old, so adding very old repeats the idea, which is a common wordiness error.

'Ancient' का अर्थ पहले से बहुत पुराना है, इसलिए 'very old' जोड़ने से अर्थ दोहराया जाता है, जो शब्दाधिक्य की आम गलती है।

✗ This is an ancient book of last year.

✓ This is an old book from last year.

Last year is recent, so ancient is impossible; students use the word for anything old.

पिछला वर्ष हाल का समय है, इसलिए 'ancient' असंभव है; विद्यार्थी इस शब्द को हर पुरानी चीज़ के लिए प्रयोग कर लेते हैं।

≠Thesaurus: which synonym when

Ancient, antique and old differ in time depth and value.

Ancient, antique और old समय की गहराई और मूल्य में भिन्न हैं।

ancient

From the very distant past, usually thousands of years.

बहुत दूर के अतीत का, प्रायः हज़ारों वर्ष पुराना।

  • An ancient inscription was found.

old

Having lived or existed for a long time.

लंबे समय से जीवित या विद्यमान।

  • Our old school is near the river.
≈Synonyms and antonyms