Meanings
nounancient history (uncountable)
- uncountableA period of history generally seen as occurring before the Middle Ages, that is, before the fall of the Roman Empire. Includes Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
- idiomaticuncountableThat which happened a long time ago and not worth discussing any more.
Who cares if he said those things at the beginning of the year? That's ancient history now.
1 more example
"I want to have a notion how we stand about the bankruptcy." / "Oh, that's ancient history," cried Jim.
1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lloyd Osbourne, “Cross-questions and Crooked Answers”, in The Wrecker, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 276
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Translations
Ancient Greek ἀρχαιότης
- ἀρχαιότης (arkhaiótēs)period of history
Chinese Mandarin 古代歷史 /古代历史, 古代史
- 古代歷史 /古代历史 (gǔdài lìshǐ)period of history
- 古代史 (gǔdàishǐ)period of history
- 古史 (gǔshǐ)period of history
- 上古史 (shànggǔshǐ)period of history
- 已經過去的事 /已经过去的事 (yǐjīng guòqù de shì)not worth discussing any more
Dutch oudheid, klassieke geschiedenis
- oudheidperiod of history
- klassieke geschiedenisperiod of history
- lang geledennot worth discussing any more
- geleden tijdnot worth discussing any more
- eeuwen geledennot worth discussing any more
Finnish vanhan ajan historia, antiikin historia
- vanhan ajan historiaperiod of history
- antiikin historiaperiod of history
- mennytnot worth discussing any more
- historianot worth discussing any more
French Antiquité, histoire ancienne
- Antiquitéperiod of history
- histoire anciennenot worth discussing any more
German Altertum, schon längst Geschichte
- Altertumperiod of history
- schon längst Geschichtenot worth discussing any more
- Schnee von gesternnot worth discussing any more
Greek αρχαία ιστορία
- αρχαία ιστορία (archaía istoría)period of history
Italian storia antica, antichità
- storia anticaperiod of history
- antichitàperiod of history
- acqua passatanot worth discussing any more
Polish historia starożytna, stara historia
- historia starożytnaperiod of history
- stara historianot worth discussing any more
Portuguese Antiguidade, águas passadas
- Antiguidadeperiod of history
- águas passadasnot worth discussing any more
- passadonot worth discussing any more
Russian исто́рия дре́внего ми́ра, анти́чная исто́рия
- исто́рия дре́внего ми́ра (istórija drévnevo míra)period of history
- анти́чная исто́рия (antíčnaja istórija)period of history
- ста́рая исто́рия (stáraja istórija)not worth discussing any more
- де́ло про́шлое (délo próšloje)not worth discussing any more
Spanish Antigüedad, agua pasada
- Antigüedadperiod of history
- agua pasadanot worth discussing any more
Swedish antiken, länge sedan
- antikenperiod of history
- länge sedannot worth discussing any more
- forna historianot worth discussing any more
Cite this entry
APA
ancient history. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ancient%20history
MLA
“ancient history.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ancient%20history. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ancient history,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ancient%20history.
Source: ancient history on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.