ATAVIC Meaning of ATAVIC in English ˈad.ə(ˌ)vik, ˈatə-; əˈtav-, (ˈ)a|t- adjectiveEtymology: probably from French atavique, from Latin atavus ancestor + French -ique -ic: atavistic Webster's New International English Dictionary. Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster. 2012