Old or ancient; an archaic or formal French word used occasionally in English historical contexts, meaning 'former' or 'old-fashioned.'
From Old French 'ancien,' from Latin 'antianus' (ancient, former), related to 'ante' (before). French word occasionally borrowed into English in formal or historical writing.
Ancien appears in English mostly in the phrase 'ancien régime' (the old government system before the French Revolution), showing how French revolutionary language shaped English.
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