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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RELIC

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pronounce RELIC:

RELL ick

Hear it.
connect this word to others:

In its oldest sense, a relic is an object or a body part that remains from some long-dead holy person, like a saint or a ma____ (a person who died for their beliefs). An original relic, then, maybe have been a hair, or a finger. Ew.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Relic" traces back to a Latin word meaning "remains: something left back, or left behind."

In English, "relics" were originally old, left-behind objects or body parts from holy people, like saints or martyrs.

The meaning of the word loosened over time: a "relic" can be any holy object, or any object that someone keeps as a reminder of the past, like a souvenir or a memento.

But most often, these days, when we call something a relic, we mean it's some object or other thing left over from times gone by.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "They're digging for relics;" "This chunky Nokia phone is a relic from 2003."

Other forms: 

The only common one is the plural noun, "relics."

If you like, you can use "relic" as an adjective, especially to talk about relic species or relic landforms (the kind from long ago).

how to use it:

Pick the common, formal word "relic" when you need to strike a tone that's serious, religious, or scholarly.

You might talk literally about historical, cultural, or religious relics on display in museums. Or, refer to someone's belongings, habits, or behaviors as relics.

Often, we talk about relics of or from a certain time or place. "I only stream music these days, but I treasure these framed records as a relic of the past." "If you're still starting business letters with 'Dear Sir,' you may want to let go of that relic from the male-dominated world."

examples:

"The 'out' sounds like 'oot,' a relic of Dad's Canadian upbringing."
   — Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places, 2015

"For thousands of years, the city where my father's family comes from has been home to a mosaic of people from many cultures and religions, and it has been heartbreaking to see it turned to rubble [by earthquakes]. Some of the oldest relics of civilization might be lost forever."
   — Pinar Keskinocak, Scientific American, 25 March 2023

has this page helped you understand "relic"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "relic" without saying "remnant" or "vestige."

try it out:

Sometimes when I see the number 30, I mentally sing this jingle from an old local TV ad: "One-thirty-thirty Shawnee Mission Parkway: Rouse's Barbecue. Yeehaw!"

The jingle is a relic from the mid-90's, when my sister and I would veg out after school in front of the TV, laughing and singing along with the cheesy local commercials. Good times!

Talk about a relic that pops back into your brain from time to time. It might be a song, a jingle, a catchphrase, a joke, an image, a smell, etc. To what part of your history does this relic belong?




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for April: Interpret the Titles!

I'll give you the title of some book, movie, or other creation, along with a summary, and I'll challenge you to interpret the title in three different ways.

For examples, and some tips if you get stuck, head here!

Try this one today: "Jungleland" is a 1975 song by Bruce Springsteen. It tells a story, and it takes almost ten minutes to do it. Here's a summary of the lyrics from Wikipedia: "[It begins] with a sense of desperate hope that slides slowly into despair and defeat. The song opens with the 'Magic Rat' 'driving his sleek machine over the Jersey state line' and meeting up with the 'Barefoot Girl,' with whom he 'takes a stab at romance and disappears down Flamingo Lane.' The song portrays some scenes of the city and gang life in which the Rat is involved, with occasional references to the gang's conflict with police. The last two stanzas... describe the death of the Rat and his dream, which 'guns him down' in the 'tunnels uptown,' and the end of the love between him and the Barefoot Girl. The song concludes with a description of the final fall of the Rat and the lack of impact his death has: 'No one watches as the ambulance pulls away/Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light,' 'Man, the poets down here don't write nothin' at all / They just stand back and let it all be.'"

1. It's titled "Jungleland" because... ?

2. It's titled "Jungleland" because... ?

3. tI's titled "Jungleland" because... ?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. The opposite of a RELIC could be

A. a FROLIC (a whim or a prank).
B. a PROTOTYPE (a new or original model for an object).
C. an ARTIFACT (a found object from an earlier time period).

2. In the show Relic Hunter, Sydney Fox chases after _____.

A. reclusive authors, like Harper Lee
B. mythical beings, like leprechauns and centaurs
C. antiquities, like a chalice that belonged to Vlad the Impaler




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. C


Possible answers to the game questions:

1. It's titled "Jungleland" because the New York City that it portrays is a jungle of people hunting for things (like love) and being hunted (by the police).

2. It's titled "Jungleland" because the New York City that it portrays is a cheesy theme park filled with cartoonish characters and wild rides. 

3. It's titled "Jungleland" because the emotional landscape it depicts is impenetrable. In the end, not even the poets can say anything about it.


a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
      36 ways to study words.
      Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
      How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
      How to improve any sentence.
      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
      How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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