Classical

Pronunciation

Origin

From classic, from Latin classicus (of the first class).

Full definition of classical

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
• ArbuthnotMr. Greaves may justly be reckoned a classical author on this subject.
2. Of or pertaining to established principles in a discipline.
• Schuster Hepaticae V|viiHerbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get; what you get is classical alpha-taxonomy which is, very largely and for sound reasons, in disrepute today.
3. (music) Describing European music and musicians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
4. (informal, music) Describing serious music (rather than pop, jazz, blues etc), especially when played using instruments of the orchestra.
5. Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially 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.
• MacaulayHe Atterbury directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college.
6. Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined; as, a classical style.
• MacaulayClassical, provincial, and national synods.
7. (physics) Pertaining to models of physical laws that do not take quantum or relativistic effects into account; Newtonian or Maxwellian.

Derived terms

• Classical Greece
• Classical Greek
• classical history
• Classical Latin
• classical music