of or in time long past, esp. before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d. 476

ancient history.

dating from a remote period; of great age

ancient rocks; ancient trees.

very old; aged

an ancient folk tale.

being old in wisdom and experience; venerable.

old-fashioned or antique.

a person who lived in ancient times.

one of the classical writers of antiquity.

a very old or aged person, esp. if venerable or patriarchal.

ancients,

the civilized peoples, nations, or cultures of antiquity, as the Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and Egyptians (usually prec. by the ).

the writers, artists, and philosophers of ancient times, esp. those of Greece and Rome.