[ar.cha.ic] adj [F or Gk; F archaique, fr. Gk archaikos, fr. archaios] (1832) 1: having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses
2: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time: antiquated "~ legal traditions" 3 cap: of or belonging to the early or formative phases of a culture or a period of artistic development; esp: of or belonging to the period leading up to the classical period of Greek culture
4: surviving from an earlier period; specif: typical of a previously dominant evolutionary stage
5. cap: of or relating to the period from about 8000 b.c. to 1000 b.c. and the North American cultures of that time syn see old -- ar.cha.i.cal.ly adv