Classical

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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              Give, as thy last memorial to the age,
              One classic drama, and reform the stage. --Byron.
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              Mr. Greaves may justly be reckoned a classical
              author on this subject [Roman weights and coins].
                                                    --Arbuthnot.
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     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.
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              Though throned midst Latium's classic plains. --Mrs.
                                                    Hemans.
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              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.
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              He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the
              undergraduates of his college.        --Macaulay.
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     3. Conforming to the best authority in literature and art;
        chaste; pure; refined; as, a classical style.
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              Classical, provincial, and national synods.
                                                    --Macaulay.
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     {Classicals orders}. (Arch.) See under {Order}.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  classical
       adj 1: of or characteristic of a form or system felt to be of first
              significance before modern times [ant: {nonclassical}]
       2: of recognized authority or excellence; "the definitive work
          on Greece"; "classical methods of navigation" [syn: {authoritative},
           {definitive}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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