the quality of being ancient; ancientness; great age; as, a statue of remarkable antiquity; a family of great antiquity.-old age.-ancient times; former ages; times long since past; as, cicero was an eloquent orator of antiquity.-the ancients; the people of ancient times.-an old gentleman.-a relic or monument of ancient times; as, a coin, a statue, etc.; an ancient institution. [in this sense, usually in the plural.]