relict

1 of 2

noun

rel·​ict ˈre-likt 

1

: widow

2

: a surviving species of an otherwise extinct group of organisms

also : a remnant of a formerly widespread species that persists in an isolated area

3

a

: a relief feature or rock remaining after other parts have disappeared

b

: something left unchanged

relict

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or being a relict

relict populations

Did you know?

The oldest English sense of "relict" is extinct-or at least obsolete. In the 16th century, relict meant "an object esteemed and venerated because of association with a saint or martyr," but that meaning is now covered by "relic," a related word that can also refer to something left behind after decay or disappearance. "Relict" was also used to refer to a widow at one time, but now that sense is more or less limited to legal uses. It seems fitting that "relict" has outdated senses; after all, it derives ultimately from the Latin verb relinquere, meaning "to leave behind."

Examples of relict in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But the New Zealand Department of Conservation lists the reptiles as at risk — relict, a denotation reserved for species that declined to a small population but have since stabilized. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2024

Last year, the team found a relict glacier in the geologically young region, a hopeful sign for future human habitation on a cold, arid, generally inhospitable world. —Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024

Just three relict groups of hunter-gatherers--the Semang Negritos of the Malay Peninsula, the Andaman Islanders, and the Veddoid Negritos of Sri Lanka--remain to give us any clue as to what those peoples were like. —Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019

Unable to cross the straits these relict groups eventually went extinct. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 11 Mar. 2011

The implication is that D is a relict of a large set of populations which have slowly been absorbed by expansions of other groups. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2010

What was once believed to be the largest asteroid has now been revealed as a relict protoplanet that once had a since-frozen over ocean. —John Wenz, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2018

The plant is a relict, an ancient hanger-on from a time just after the death of the dinosaurs, when the Pyrenees enjoyed a tropical climate. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 12 Sep. 2012

The site is located in close proximity to a substantial relict lake and indicates that Middle Paleolithic hominins penetrated deeply into the Arabian Peninsula to inhabit landscapes vegetated by grasses and some trees. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2011

Word History

Etymology

Noun

in sense 1, from Middle English relicte, from Late Latin relicta, from Latin, feminine of relictus, past participle of relinquere; in senses 2 & 3, from relict residual, adjective, from Latin relictus

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1587, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

relict

noun

rel·​ict

ˈrel-ikt

1

: widow

2

: a small surviving group of a formerly widespread plant or animal species that continues to exist in an isolated area