Antique vs. Antiquity — What's the Difference?

A true antique (Latin: antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that is old. An antique is usually an item that is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features.

Ancient times, especially the times preceding the Middle Ages.

A collectable object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its age and quality

The people, especially the writers and artisans, of ancient times

Having a high value because of age and quality

The quality of being old or ancient; considerable age

Belonging to ancient times

Often antiquities Something, such as an object or a relic, belonging to or dating from ancient times.

Make (something) resemble an antique by artificial means

Ancient times; faraway history; former ages

Search or shop for antiques

The people of ancient times.

Belonging to, made in, or typical of an earlier period

(obsolete) An old gentleman.

Of or belonging to ancient times, especially of, from, or characteristic of ancient Greece or Rome.

(history) The historical period preceding the Middle Ages (c. 500-1500), primarily relating to European history.

Relating to or dealing in antiques.

A relic or monument of ancient times, such as a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution.

Having the appearance of an antique.

The state of being ancient or of ancient lineage.

Old-fashioned; outdated

The quality of being ancient; ancientness; great age; as, a statue of remarkable antiquity; a family of great antiquity.

An object having special value because of its age, especially a domestic item or piece of furniture or handicraft esteemed for its artistry, beauty, or period of origin.

Old age.

The style or manner of ancient times, especially that of ancient Greek or Roman art

Ancient times; former ages; times long since past; as, Cicero was an eloquent orator of antiquity.

To give the appearance of an antique to

The ancients; the people of ancient times.

To hunt or shop for antiques.

An old gentleman.

Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.

A relic or monument of ancient times; as, a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution. [In this sense, usually in the plural.]

Belonging to former times, not modern, out of date, old-fashioned.

The historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe

(typography) Designating a style of type.

Extreme oldness

(bookbinding) Embossed without gilt.

An artifact surviving from the past

(obsolete) antic, specifically:

Fantastic, odd, wild, antic.

In general, anything very old; specifically:

An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance.

An object of ancient times.

(in the singular) The style or manner of ancient times, used especially of Greek and Roman art.

An old person.

(obsolete) A man of ancient times.

(typography) A style of type of thick and bold face in which all lines are of equal or nearly equal thickness.

(obsolete) antic, specifically:

Grotesque entertainment; an antic.

A performer in an antic; or in general, a burlesque performer, a buffoon.

(intransitive) To search or shop for antiques.

(transitive) To make (an object) appear to be an antique in some way.

To emboss without gilding.

Old; ancient; of genuine antiquity; as, an antique statue. In this sense it usually refers to the flourishing ages of Greece and Rome.

Old, as respects the present age, or a modern period of time; of old fashion; antiquated; as, an antique robe.

Made in imitation of antiquity; as, the antique style of Thomson's "Castle of Indolence."

Odd; fantastic.

In general, anything very old; but in a more limited sense, a relic or object of ancient art; collectively, the antique, the remains of ancient art, as busts, statues, paintings, and vases.

An elderly man

Any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity

Shop for antiques;

Give an antique appearance to;

Made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age;

Out of fashion;

Belonging to or lasting from times long ago;