a group of animals or plants that exists as a remnant of a formerly widely distributed group in an environment different from that in which it originated
b.
(as modifier)
a relict fauna
2. geology
a.
a mountain, lake, glacier, etc, that is a remnant of a pre-existing formation after a destructive process has occurred
b.
a mineral that remains unaltered after metamorphism of the rock in which it occurs
3. an archaic word for widow (sense 1)
4. an archaic word for relic (sense 6)
Word origin
C16: from Latin relictus left behind, from relinquere to relinquish
relict in American English
(rɪˈlɪkt; for n. ˈrɛlɪkt)
adjective Archaic
1.
surviving the death of another; esp., widowed
noun
2. Archaic
a widow
3.
a. Ecology
a plant or animal species living on in isolation in a small local area as a survival from an earlier period or as a remnant of an almost extinct group
b. Geology
a physical feature, mineral, structure, etc. remaining after other components have wasted away or been altered
Word origin
L relictus, pp. of relinquere: see relinquish; (sense 2) LL relicta < L relictus
Examples of 'relict' in a sentence
relict
It was a fine jacket, custom-made, showing off Julian's thickset manliness and his self-identification as a relict of the swinging `sixties.
Meek, M R D IN REMEMBRANCE OF ROSE (2001)
Araminta, Lady Bellamy, eccentric relict of a wealthy man, was his godmother.