relic: Meaning and Definition of

rel•ic

Pronunciation: (rel'ik), [key]
— n.
  1. a surviving memorial of something past.
  2. an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past: a museum of historic relics.
  3. a surviving trace of something: a custom that is a relic of paganism.
    1. remaining parts or fragments.
    2. the remains of a deceased person.
  4. something kept in remembrance; souvenir; memento.
  5. (esp. in the Roman Catholic and Greek churches) the body, a part of the body, or some personal memorial of a saint, martyr, or other sacred person, preserved as worthy of veneration.
  6. a once widespread linguistic form that survives in a limited area but is otherwise obsolete.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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