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Classic   /klˈæsɪk/   Listen
adjective
Classical, Classic  adj.  
1.
Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. "Give, as thy last memorial to the age, One classic drama, and reform the stage." "Mr. Greaves may justly be reckoned a classical author on this subject (Roman weights and coins)."
2.
Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, esp. to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds. "Though throned midst Latium's classic plains." "The epithet classical, as applied to ancient authors, is determined less by the purity of their style than by the period at which they wrote." "He (Atterbury) directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college."
3.
Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined; as, a classical style. "Classical, provincial, and national synods."
Classicals orders. (Arch.) See under Order.



noun
Classic  n.  
1.
A work of acknowledged excellence and authority, or its author; originally used of Greek and Latin works or authors, but now applied to authors and works of a like character in any language. "In is once raised him to the rank of a legitimate English classic."
2.
One learned in the literature of Greece and Rome, or a student of classical literature.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Classic" Quotes from Famous Books



... while he is reading it, let us briefly describe him. Hopeful is not a beauty, and he knows it; and though some of the rustic wits call him 'Beaut,' he is well aware that they intend it for irony. His countenance runs too much to nose—rude, amorphous nose at that—to be classic, and is withal rugged in general outline and pimply in spots. His hair is decidedly too dingy a red to be called, even by the utmost stretch of courtesy, auburn; dry, coarse, and pertinaciously obstinate in its resistance ...
— The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No 3, September, 1862 - Devoted to Literature and National Policy. • Various

... classic metres, "versifying," as it was called in contradistinction to rhyming, was becoming fast the fashion among the more learned. Stonyhurst and others had tried their hands at hexameter translations from the Latin and Greek epics, which seem to have ...
— Westward Ho! • Charles Kingsley

... charm. At one moment, as the flames flickered into stronger life, her beauty seemed to grow fuller and to have an oriental softness and warmth; the next, the light would die away, and in the cooler, grayer, fainter radiance, her perfect grace of classic outline made her seem a statue—Galatea just coming to life, more beautiful than the daughters of men, her great ...
— The Bacillus of Beauty - A Romance of To-day • Harriet Stark

... his private office, he was amazed to see Berene Dumont sitting in his chair fast asleep, her head framed by her folded arms, which rested on his desk. Against the dark maroon of her sleeve, her classic face was outlined like a marble statuette. Her long lashes swept her cheek, and in the attitude in which she sat, her graceful, perfectly-proportioned figure displayed each beautiful ...
— An Ambitious Man • Ella Wheeler Wilcox

... translations of the libretti, unless audiences return with one accord to the attitude of the amateurs of former days, who paid not the slightest attention to the plot of the piece, provided only that their favourite singers were taking part. Very often in that classic period the performers themselves knew nothing and cared less about the dramatic meaning of the works in which they appeared, and a venerable anecdote is current concerning a certain supper party, the guests at which had all identified ...
— The Opera - A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions - of all Works in the Modern Repertory • R.A. Streatfeild


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