RELIC

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does relic mean? 

• RELIC (noun)
  The noun RELIC has 2 senses:

1. an antiquity that has survived from the distant past

2. something of sentimental value

  Familiarity information: RELIC used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RELIC (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An antiquity that has survived from the distant past

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("relic" is a kind of...):

antiquity (an artifact surviving from the past)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relic"):

archeological remains; remains (a relic that has been excavated from the soil)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something of sentimental value

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

keepsake; relic; souvenir; token

Hypernyms ("relic" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relic"):

love-token (keepsake given as a token of love)

favor; favour; party favor; party favour (souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party)

 Context examples 

It underwent the same violent gas-loss process as D100 is now undergoing, and is now a dead relic.

(Hubble Sees Plunging Galaxy Losing Its Gas, NASA)

“Very interesting—very interesting, indeed!” said Holmes, peering at this sinister relic.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Here are the precious relics, and, oh, I pray you that you will handle them softly and with reverence, else had I rather left my unworthy bones here by the wayside.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The rest must come from a Local Bubble of hot gas, the relic of ancient supernovas outside the solar system.

(Evidence for supernovas near Earth, NASA)

These relics have a history then?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All these relics gave to the third storey of Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine of memory.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Scientists have uncovered a rare relic from the early universe: the farthest known supermassive black hole.

(Most Distant Black Hole, NASA)

He thrust me into that dark hiding-place—a relic of old days, known only to himself.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The 900m-wide Ryugu asteroid, formally known as 162173, is thought to be a relic from the earliest days of our solar system.

(First Ever Video of Asteroid Sent Back to Earth by Japanese Rovers, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

These unfrozen materials appear to be relics of past surface ecosystems and the findings provide compelling evidence that they now provide deep subsurface habitats for microbial life despite extreme environmental conditions.

(Discovered deep under Antarctic surface: Extensive, salty aquifer and potentially vast microbial habitat, NSF)