classics
classics Lexical Profile
classics Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Works of art, literature, music, or film that are judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and enduring value.
"The local bookstore has an entire section dedicated to nineteenth-century literary classics."
The academic study of the languages, literature, history, philosophy, and art of ancient Greece and Rome.
"She decided to major in classics at university after developing a passion for Latin poetry and Greek mythology."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the academic discipline studying ancient Greece and Rome, 'classics' is treated as a singular uncountable noun (e.g., 'Classics is a rigorous field'), whereas when referring to enduring works of art or literature, it functions as a plural noun.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the Latin 'classicus', meaning 'belonging to the highest class of citizens', which later came to denote authors and works of the highest standard, particularly those of Greek and Roman antiquity.