[syn: classical, classic, Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, Hellenic]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Classic \Clas"sic\ (kl[a^]s"s[i^]k), Classical \Clas"sic*al\, a.
[L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people,
and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank,
superior, from classis class: cf. F. classique. See Class,
n.]
1. Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in
literature or art.
[1913 Webster]
Give, as thy last memorial to the age,
One classic drama, and reform the stage. --Byron.
[1913 Webster]
Mr. Greaves may justly be reckoned a classical
author on this subject [Roman weights and coins].
--Arbuthnot.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Though throned midst Latium's classic plains. --Mrs.
Hemans.
[1913 Webster]
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.
--Brande & C.
[1913 Webster]
He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the
undergraduates of his college. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
3. Conforming to the best authority in literature and art;
chaste; pure; refined; as, a classical style.
[1913 Webster]
Classical, provincial, and national synods.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
Classicals orders. (Arch.) See under Order.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
classical
adj 1: of or relating to the most highly developed stage of an
earlier civilisation and its culture; "classic Cinese
pottery" [syn: classical, classic] [ant:
nonclassical]
2: of recognized authority or excellence; "the definitive work
on Greece"; "classical methods of navigation" [syn:
authoritative, classical, classic, definitive]
3: of or relating to the study of the literary works of ancient
Greece and Rome; " a classical scholar"
4: (language) having the form used by ancient standard authors;
"classical Greek
5: of or pertaining to or characteristic of the ancient Greek
and Roman cultures; "classical mythology"; "classical [syn:
classical, classic, Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman,
Hellenic]
n 1: traditional genre of music conforming to an established
form and appealing to critical interest and developed
musical taste [syn: classical music, classical,
serious music]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
157 Moby Thesaurus words for "classical":
Attic, Ciceronian, Gothic, Greek, Latin, Roman, Victorian,
absolute, aesthetic, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, archaic,
archetypical, arrant, artistic, authoritative, belletristic,
capital, champion, chaste, choice, classic, clear, common,
commonplace, complete, consummate, crass, decided, definitive,
developed, direct, downright, easy, egregious, elegant,
established, everyday, excellent, exemplary, expert, famous, fine,
finished, flagrant, fossil, fossilized, fully developed, garden,
garden-variety, glaring, graceful, gracile, gross, grown old,
homely, homespun, household, ideal, in good taste, influential,
intolerable, limpid, literary, lucid, masterful, masterly,
matter-of-fact, mature, matured, medieval, mid-Victorian, model,
natural, neat, nondescript, of choice, of other times, of quality,
old-world, ordinary, out-and-out, outright, paradigmatic, pellucid,
perfect, perfected, perspicuous, petrified, plain, pleasing,
polished, positive, precedential, precious, prime, proficient,
profound, pronounced, proper, prosaic, prosy, prototypal, pure,
pure and simple, quiet, quintessential, rank, refined, regular,
representative, restrained, ripe, ripened, round, serious,
shattering, shocking, simple, standard, stark, stark-staring,
straightforward, subdued, superannuated, superior, superlative,
surpassing, tasteful, terse, the veriest, thorough, thoroughgoing,
top, top-notch, total, traditional, trim, typical, unaffected,
unbearable, unconscionable, undeniable, understated, unequivocal,
unlabored, unmitigated, unobtrusive, unqualified, unrelieved,
unspoiled, utter, weighty, well-chosen, workaday, workday