Antediluvian

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Grammarist

The adjective antediluvian is a term used for things that come from before the time of the great flood in the Bible. It is also used when something is out-of-date or extremely aged. The connotation is humorous since the speaker is referring to the object as being from before the flood, which happened thousands of years ago.

Antediluvian can also be used as a noun.

According to Google’s ngram, the popularity of the word has faded since the early nineteenth century. Though it is used more frequently outside the United States than inside.

As far as pronunciation goes, there are a two ways to say antediluvian that are accepted by the dictionary. Either \an-ti-də-ˈlü-vē-ən\ or \an-ti-dī-ˈlü-vē-ən\, with the United States preferring the first and elsewhere preferring the latter.

Examples

Instead, this antediluvian law had heaped insult on injury by turning them into felons. [Indian Express]

How much better, one wonders, could it have been if, instead of sloshing through the enormous puddle the long way from the main entrance doors, Grimaud has taken her place from dry land and begun her program? If then the waters had come, would it have created an antediluvian sense of suspense scored by sound and brought the audience along better through the journey? [New York Observer]

Hura is something of an antediluvian. He plays the part of the archetypal artist toiling away in isolation, often in privation but indifferent to the fame his work begets him. [Deccan Herald]