reliquiae means remains, especially of fossil organisms.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, reliquiae ranks #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,328 of 14,438 for Most Storied Words, #2,580 of 14,456 for The Improbable, #2,592 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “reliquiae” is a great word
Reliquiae are the physical remains left behind, particularly the fossilized traces of ancient life or the material leavings of past human activity. From Latin reliquiae, plural of reliquus ('remaining, left over'), from relinquere ('to leave behind'), the term was first attested in English in the 1650s. Unlike 'relics,' which are sanctified by veneration, or 'remains,' a generic term for any leftover, reliquiae are evidence, not icons—the unconsecrated, often anonymous detritus of elapsed time. It is the ammonite's spiral pressed into shale, the charred seed in a hearth-pit, the solitary sandal preserved in bog-iron; a testament not to what was saved, but to everything that was not, the mute insistence that something was here and is, still, telling.
Etymology
From Latin reliquiae.
noun
- Remains, especially of fossil organisms.“The most abundant fossil remains of plants belong to terrestrial tribes; but the animal reliquiæ are mostly of aquatic origin; […]”
- Artifacts; things made or modified by human art.
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