preclassicadj.
/priːˈklasɪk/, U.S. /priˈklæsɪk/ 1. = pre-classical adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > historical period > [adjective] > of Greek or Roman antiquity
classic1597
ancient1605
Constantinian1641
classical1691
post-classical1851
pre-classical1860
pre-Roman1863
post-Roman1865
preclassic1869
Hadrianic1886
Protogeometric1914
sub-Roman1932
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary world > [adjective] > literary period
classical1546
preclassic1869
Gustavian1884
silver1889
pre-classical1948
Sangam1955
1869 Anthropol. Rev. 7 347 That preclassic literature..of the stately dwellers on the Nile or Euphrates.
1894 Atlantic Monthly May 670/1 The study of pre-classic antiquity in the Old World.
1948 K. O'Donnell Hoover Makers of Opera vii. 51 It would have been this forgotten master who helped to found the preclassic symphony.
2000 Irish Times (Nexis) 15 Jan. 65 Films from the pre-classic era..flagrantly violated the 1930 Hays Production Code.
2. Archaeology. Usually with capital initial. Of, relating, or belonging to that period of Mesoamerican civilization from c1500 b.c. to a.d. 300 which preceded the Classic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > Indian of Central or South America > [adjective] > peoples of Central America > specific period
pre-Hispanic1908
classic1928
preclassic1945
post-classic1956
1945 Amer. Antiq. 11 74/1 The pre-classic phases of Honduras and of El Salvador.
1967 L. Deuel Conquistadors without Swords iii. xv. 188 The emergence of an ‘archaic age’ in Mexican pre-history, now usually referred to as formative or pre-classic.
1987 National Geographic Mag. Sept. 329/2 We found elegantly shaped, red Chicanel pottery that clearly was of Preclassic manufacture.
2000 Archaeology May–June 18/2 Evidence..of occupation from the Middle Preclassic to the Colonial period.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1869