Meanings
- not comparableVery old; having existed for a long time; ancient or well-established.
They still make pottery by hand, in the age-old tradition.
2 more examples
It is a striking fact that it seems to be an age-old tradition amongst locomotive designers that a 0-6-0 tender engine must have inside cylinders.
1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 319–320And on a programme of works of this magnitude, passengers will need to be mindful of the age-old maxim of 'no gain without pain'.
2020 September 23, Paul Stephen, “East Coast upgrade: changes to schedule... but on schedule”, in Rail, page 31Synonyms: antediluvian, old as the hills, old as Adam
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveVery old; having existed for a long time; ancient or well-established.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
age-old. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/age-old
“age-old.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/age-old. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “age-old,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/age-old.
Source: age-old on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.