Basic Details
Word: Archaic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Very old or old-fashioned; belonging to the past and no longer in common use.
Synonyms: old-fashioned, outdated, ancient, obsolete
Antonyms: modern, current, up-to-date
How to Spell Archaic
Syllables: ar - cha - ic
Tricky part: The ch is said like k (ar-KAY-ik), so students write arkaic. The ending also needs both vowels, a then i.
Watch out for: arkaic, archic, archaick
Memory tip: Archaic and archaeology both open with archa, from a Greek word for beginning or old times. In both, ch is a hard k, as in chorus.
Usage Examples
Example 1: My grandmother's archaic typewriter still sits on a shelf in her study.
Example 2: Some of the rules in our housing society are archaic and badly need changing.
Example 3: The poem uses archaic words like ere and yonder.
Fun Fact
Thou and thee were once the everyday way to say you; they are now archaic and are heard mostly in old prayers and in Shakespeare.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word archaic as used in the sentence:
The office still keeps its records with an archaic filing system of cardboard boxes.
a) costly
b) noisy
c) outdated
d) modern
Show answer
c) outdated. An archaic system belongs to the past, so it is outdated; modern means the opposite.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
ar_ha_c
a) k, i
b) s, i
c) c, e
d) c, i
Show answer
d) c, i. The hard k sound is spelt ch here, and the word ends -aic.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. antiquaty 2. tradision 3. archaic 4. ancester
a) very old and no longer in use
b) a person from whom one is descended
c) the distant past, especially before the Middle Ages
d) a custom passed down over many years
Show answer
a) very old and no longer in use. Ancestor, antiquity and tradition are each written with a wrong ending in the list; archaic is untouched.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A law described as archaic is one that ____.
a) protects only wild animals
b) is followed in every country
c) was made long ago and no longer suits today
d) was passed by the state last week
Show answer
c) was made long ago and no longer suits today
2. Hath and doth are archaic words. This means they are ____.
a) borrowed from Hindi
b) no longer in everyday use
c) used only by young children
d) spelt in two different ways
Show answer
b) no longer in everyday use
