relic

/ˈɹɛlɪk/noun, verb, adjective

relic is a noun meaning “That which remains; that which is left after loss or decay; a remaining portion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-L-I-C and has 2 syllables, and it appears 2.3 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of relic is relics.

What does relic mean?

noun

1
That which remains; that which is left after loss or decay; a remaining portion.
2
Something old and outdated, possibly kept for sentimental reasons.
3
A part of the body of a saint, or an ancient religious object, kept for veneration.
4
A particle or entity that has existed since the Big Bang.

verb

1
To cause (an object) to appear old or worn, to distress.

adjective

1
Pertaining to the Big Bang.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce relic?

/ˈɹɛlɪk/

Relic has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-relic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of relic

relics plural, present, singular, he/she/it
relicing participle, present
relicking participle, present
reliced participle, past
relicked participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is relic?

Relic appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form in the list.

relic0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Relic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Language	Words
French	reliquat (that which remains), relique (part of a body or an object of religious…)
Spanish	reliquia, vestigio (that which remains)
German	Reliquie (part of a body or an object of religious…), Relikt (old thing, possibly kept for sentimental reasons)
Portuguese	relíquia (old thing, possibly kept for sentimental reasons)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does relic come from?

From Middle English relik et al., from Old French relique, from Latin reliquiae (“remains, relics”), from relinquō (“to leave behind, abandon, relinquish”), from re- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”). Doublet of relict, derelict, and relinquish.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).