Etymograph

English

antique

Antique comes from French antique ‘ancient, old’, from Latin ante ‘before’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘front, front side’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ent-1‘front, front side’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énti1‘in front’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*anti1‘before’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEante2‘before’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEantiquus2‘former, earlier, ancient, old’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400antic3
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400antique3
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentantique2‘ancient, old’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1577antique2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ante
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English antique
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French antique
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Richarde Eden, Richarde Willes: “They supposed that they had seene those most beutyfull…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ent-Wiktionary, Latin ante‘front, front side’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éntiWiktionary, Latin ante‘in front’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*antiWiktionary, Latin ante‘before’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanteWiktionary, English antique‘before’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEantiquusWiktionary, English antique‘former, earlier, ancient, old’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400anticWiktionary, French antique
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400antiqueWiktionary, French antique
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentantiqueWiktionary, English antique‘ancient, old’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1577antiqueWiktionary, English antique. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Richarde Eden, Richarde Willes: “They supposed that they had seene those most beutyfull…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ‘front, front side’

end, answer, endless, 12 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti ‘in front’

and, 4 more

through Latin ante ‘before’

ancient, ante, 3 more

through Latin antiquus ‘former, earlier, ancient, old’

7 more

Today it means

adj Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “antique”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin ante, French antique. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- / antique

Shirt and support for this word