Meanings
-
1
noun
An old object or custom that has survived from the past.
The museum displays relics from ancient Rome.
-
2
noun
Something old and outdated that still remains, often kept for sentimental reasons.
That old phone is a relic from the 1990s.
-
3
noun
A part of a holy person's body or a sacred object kept and honoured for religious reasons.
Pilgrims travelled far to see the saint's relics.
Thesaurus
Word family
Forms
relicksrelics
Derived forms
relicalreliclikerelicmonger
Etymology
From Middle English relik et al., from Old French relique, from Latin reliquiae (“remains, relics”), from relinquō (“to leave behind, abandon, relinquish”), from re- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”). Doublet of relict, derelict, and relinquish.
View etymology graph ->