If you refer to something or someone as a relicof an earlier period, you mean that they belonged to that period but have survived into the present.
The tower is a relic of grim days when big houses had to be fortified against invaders.
...an old lady in her eighties, always dressed in black - a relic of a past age. [+ of]
He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.
Synonyms: remnant, vestige, memento, trace More Synonyms of relic
2. countable noun
A relic is something which was made or used a long time ago and which is kept for its historical significance.
...a museum of war relics.
...ancient Egyptian relics.
3. countable noun
A relic is the body of a saint or something else associated with a saint, which some peopleregard as holy.
More Synonyms of relic
relic in British English
(ˈrɛlɪk)
noun
1.
something that has survived from the past, such as an object or custom
2.
something kept as a remembrance or treasured for its past associations; keepsake
3. (usually plural)
a remaining part or fragment
4. Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Churches
part of the body of a saint or something supposedly used by or associated with a saint, venerated as holy
5. informal
an old or old-fashioned person or thing
6. (plural) archaic
the remains of a dead person; corpse
7. ecology a less common term for relict (sense 1)
Word origin
C13: from Old French relique, from Latin reliquiae remains, from relinquere to leave behind, relinquish
relic in American English
(ˈrɛlɪk)
noun
1.
a.
an object, custom, etc. that has survived, wholly or partially, from the past
b.
something that has historic interest because of its age and associations with the past, or that serves as a keepsake, or souvenir
2. [pl.]
remaining fragments; surviving parts; ruins
3.
relict (sense 3)
4. Ecclesiastical
the body or a body part of, or some object associated with, a saint, martyr, etc., kept and reverenced as a memorial, as in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches
Word origin
ME relike < OFr relique < L reliquiae, pl., remains < relinquere: see relinquish
Examples of 'relic' in a sentence
relic
Harvey looked at the card like a relic from the true cross.
Duncan, Robert L THE SERPENT'S MARK (2002)
The owner, Gerald Thornton, was as much of a relic as the rare and ancient coins in which he specialized.
Mark Burnell CHAMELEON (2002)
The blue-and-white pulled in past a rusting gas station that must have been a relic of the forties.
Lustbader, Eric FLOATING CITY (2002)
In other languages
relic
British English: relic NOUN
remnant If you refer to something or someone as a relic of an earlier period, you mean that they belonged to that period but have survived into the present.
The current law is a relic of an era in history that has passed.
American English: relic
Brazilian Portuguese: relíquia
Chinese: 遗迹
European Spanish: vestigio
French: vestige
German: Relikt
Italian: retaggio
Japanese: 遺物
Korean: 유물
European Portuguese: relíquia
Latin American Spanish: vestigio
British English: relic NOUN
historical A relic is something which was made or used a long time ago and which is kept for its historical significance.