Very old objects or artifacts from ancient times, especially ones that are valuable and worthy of study.
From Latin 'antiquitas' (ancient times), derived from 'antiquus' (ancient, old). The word entered English in the 1300s and referred to relics from the classical world.
The word 'antique' originally meant something was from before 500 CE (the 'ancient' world), but now a 200-year-old chair is called an antique—so the definition keeps shifting as time passes, meaning in 500 years someone might call your 2024 sneakers an antique.
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