antiquarianismn.
/ˌantᵻˈkwɛːrɪənɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˌæn(t)əˈkwɛriəˌnɪzəm/ The interests, activities, or attitudes characteristic of an antiquarian; interest in, or study of, the past and its remains. Now frequently used with reference to the activities of scholars of the 19th cent. or earlier, as distinguished from later archaeologists. Cf. antiquarian n. 1.Sometimes with depreciative overtones suggesting lack of rigour, analysis, or formal knowledge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [noun] > object from the past or antique > interest in or love of
antiquarism1658
antiquarianism1761
palaeology1825
archaeolatry1853
palaeolatry1887
1761 W. Warburton Let. Mar. in Lett. Late Eminent Prelate (?1793) clxix. 264 A mixture of simplicity, drollery, absurdity, ingenuity, superstition, and antiquarianism.
1849 E. A. Freeman Hist. Archit. 4 The first phase of ecclesiology was simple antiquarianism.
1984 L'Antiquité Classique 53 176 The present passage smacks of antiquarianism and armchair learning.
2020 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 17 Aug. (web ed.) A noteworthy Canadian figure in the transition from 19th-century antiquarianism to the more disciplined, formalized study of archaeology.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1761