noun
relict
Relict (noun) means a person or thing that remains after others have been lost.
noun
1
A person or thing that remains after others have been lost.
"A small number of linguists believe that Cimbrian is not an Austro-Bavarian dialect but a relict of Lombardic."
2
(old-fashioned) A person whose husband or wife has died.
"But I am not the penniless nonentity I was when we first met; I can offer an honorable if not a brilliant marriage; and at the very lowest I can provide my wife – my widow, my relict – with a decent competence, an assured future."
— Patrick O'Brian, HMS Surprise (1973)
3
A species, organism or ecosystem surviving from an earlier age, once common but now found in only a few places.
4
A structure or feature that has lasted from an earlier time.
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Etymology
Relict was inherited from Middle English relicte (“widow”), from Middle French relicte (“widow”), from Late Latin relicta (“widow”), from Latin relictus, the past participle of relinquō (“to abandon, to relinquish, to leave (behind)”), from re- and linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”). It is a doublet of relic, derelict and relinquish.
Rhymes for relict
See all rhymes for relict →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of relict?
"relict" (noun) means a person or thing that remains after others have been lost.
What are the different meanings of relict?
"relict" has 3 main meanings: 1. A person or thing that remains after others have been lost; 2. (old-fashioned) A person whose husband or wife has died; 3. A species, organism or ecosystem surviving from an earlier age, once common but now found in only a few places.
