Dictionary Definition
classical adj
1 of or characteristic of a form or system felt
to be of first significance before modern times [ant: nonclassical]
2 of recognized authority or excellence; "the
definitive work on Greece"; "classical methods of navigation" [syn:
authoritative,
definitive]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Adjective
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, esp. to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds.
- Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined; as, a classical style.
Translations
Greek and Roman
art etc
Extensive Definition
The word classical has several meanings:
Culture
- Classical antiquity and the study of "the classics", refers to the culture of Ancient Greece or Rome
- "Classical Chinese" or "classical Indian" culture refers to a perceived apex in the development of a society or of its arts and sciences
- "Classical French" culture refers specifically to the 18th century, rather than Ancient Greece or Rome. This causes confusions in translation.
- Classicism can be understood as defining and long-lasting civilizational patterns shaped by belief systems.
- Classical language
The arts
Pertaining to the arts (painting, music, literature, etc.), the word classical often refers to a specific time period or artistic style:- Classical architecture originated from Roman and Greek construction methods, which were later used as a model for "neo–" and "revival" architectural styles
- Classical music
- Classical music era
- Classical dance, or ballet
- Classicism
- Classical education movement refers to the educational tradition based upon the trivium and quadrivium.
- Classical philosophy
- Indian classical music
- Classical Indian dance
- Classical liberalism
- Non-Western classical music
Science
The word 'classical' is applied to any mode of scientific thought prevalent up to the time of some radical new innovation, or any scientific area of study that has well established roots, typically pre-nineteenth century.- Classical
mechanics, in physics, as founded by e.g.
Galilei,
Newton and
formalized by Hamilton
and Lagrange
(developed before the advent of modern quantum
mechanics) (see also the page about classical
physics)
- The theory of relativity is usually considered as a "classical" theory, reconciling general relativity (the "last word " in classical physics) with quantum mechanics
- Semiclassical physics, an approximate solution to a problem generated by assuming that for parts of the system, the results of classical physics does not differ too much from that of the quantum mechanics method
- Classical electrodynamics, as formalized by Maxwell
- Classical logic, in mathematical logic includes the family of
- "Classical control theory" applies control theory to analog systems. Based on classical math methods such as Laplace transforms and calculus, as opposed to the more recent digital control systems theory - based on more modern methods such as the z transforms.
- Classical economics is the school of the first economists starting with Adam Smith. Its modern successor is neoclassical economics
See also
classical in Catalan: Clàssic
(desambiguació)
classical in Welsh: Clasur
classical in Danish: Klassisk
classical in German: Klassik
classical in Spanish: Clásico
classical in Korean: 고전 (동음이의)
classical in Icelandic: Klassík
classical in Japanese: 古典
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Attic,
Ciceronian, Gothic, Greek, Latin, Roman, Victorian, absolute, aesthetic, antediluvian, antiquated, antique, archaic, archetypical, arrant, artistic, authoritative, belletristic, capital, champion, chaste, choice, classic, clear, common, commonplace, complete, consummate, crass, decided, definitive, developed, direct, downright, easy, egregious, elegant, established, everyday, excellent, exemplary, expert, famous, fine, finished, flagrant, fossil, fossilized, fully developed,
garden, garden-variety,
glaring, graceful, gracile, gross, grown old, homely, homespun, household, ideal, in good taste, influential, intolerable, limpid, literary, lucid, masterful, masterly, matter-of-fact,
mature, matured, medieval, mid-Victorian,
model, natural, neat, nondescript, of choice, of
other times, of quality, old-world, ordinary, out-and-out, outright, paradigmatic, pellucid, perfect, perfected, perspicuous, petrified, plain, pleasing, polished, positive, precedential, precious, prime, proficient, profound, pronounced, proper, prosaic, prosy, prototypal, pure, pure and simple, quiet, quintessential, rank, refined, regular, representative, restrained, ripe, ripened, round, serious, shattering, shocking, simple, standard, stark, stark-staring, straightforward,
subdued, superannuated, superior, superlative, surpassing, tasteful, terse, the veriest, thorough, thoroughgoing, top, top-notch, total, traditional, trim, typical, unaffected, unbearable, unconscionable, undeniable, understated, unequivocal, unlabored, unmitigated, unobtrusive, unqualified, unrelieved, unspoiled, utter, weighty, well-chosen, workaday, workday