relict

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈrɛlɪkt/ UK /ˈrɛlɪkt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a surviving remnant of a former population or species

The cold-water fish is a relict of the last ice age.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a surviving remnant of a... remnant survival relicholdovervestige

Word family

Related forms relic relinquish derelict

Etymology

From Latin relictus, past participle of relinquere ('to leave behind, abandon'), from re- ('back') + linquere ('to leave').

relictus Latin relinquere Latin linquere Latin *leikʷ- Proto-Indo-European

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# relict

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈrɛlɪkt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈrɛlɪkt/

## Meanings
1. a surviving remnant of a former population or species

## Examples
- The cold-water fish is a relict of the last ice age.

## Synonyms
- remnant
- survival
- relic
- holdover
- vestige

## Related Forms
- relic
- relinquish
- derelict

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: relictus
- Root: relinquere
- Root: linquere
- Root: *leikʷ-

## Etymology
From Latin relictus, past participle of relinquere ('to leave behind, abandon'), from re- ('back') + linquere ('to leave').

## AI Etymology
Relict comes from Latin relictus, past participle of relinquere ('to leave behind, abandon'), from re- ('back') + linquere ('to leave'). The historical chain includes Latin relictus, Latin relinquere, Latin linquere, and Proto-Indo-European *leikʷ-. The quoted older senses, "to leave behind, abandon", "back", and "to leave", supply the semantic anchors for relict. The formation is best read as compound, participial, and borrowed: the word relict carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a surviving remnant of a former population or species". Related English forms include relic, relinquish, and derelict. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- People & Society

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relict

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