adjective / noun
antediluvian
an-tee-dih-LOO-vee-un/ˌæntidɪˈluːviən/
Dating from before the biblical flood.
The scene shows antediluvian life as Noah loads the ark.
Etymology
Literally “before the flood,” antediluvian originally referred to the time before Noah’s Flood. That remote biblical past supplied a humorous or disparaging way to call something extremely antiquated.
In context
it now remains to magnify him in an archæological, fossiliferous, and antediluvian point of view.
More examples
- The account places these antediluvian generations before the biblical flood.
- The theological text lists the lifespans of the antediluvians.
- The scholar compares antediluvian genealogies in the biblical narrative.
Forms
antediluvian · antediluvians
Similar words
- ancient
- Means very old without the specific biblical reference.
- outdated
- Means no longer current, not necessarily extremely old.