Definition of "relict"

(formal) Something that, or someone who, survives or remains or is left over after the loss of others; a relic.

1. (archaic) The surviving member of a married couple after one or the other has died; a widow or widower.  quotations

   Quotations

   • Upon which the Chancellor, by way of note said, 'it is suggested, that there is a relict of the deceased, married to another man, who has joined her in a power of attorney to authorize the sale of her interest, […] '

     1801, Reports of cases decided in the High court of Chancery of Maryland, volume 3, page 268

   • But I am not the penniless nonentity I was when we first met; I can offer an honorable if not a brilliant marriage; and at the very lowest I can provide my wife – my widow, my relict – with a decent competence, an assured future.

     1973, Patrick O'Brian, HMS Surprise

2. (biology, ecology) A species, organism, or ecosystem that has survived from a previous age: one that was once widespread but is now found only in a few areas.  quotations

   Quotations

   • The species may be a relict of former stages of historical vegetation and landscape development resulting from past climate changes (glacial and post- glacial periods).

     2010, M. Zimmerman et al., edited by Jan Christian Habel and Thorsten Assmann, Relict Species: Phylogeography and Conservation Biology, page 324

3. (geology) A structure or other feature that has survived from a previous age.  quotations

   Quotations

   • Dark rims around the pillows are caused by glaucophane enrichment, possibly a relict of a primary interaction between basalt and seawater, causing Na- enrichment in the original glass crust of the pillows.

     2011, Mark Keiter, Chris Ballhaus, Frank Tomaschek, A New Geological Map of the Island of Syros (Aegean Sea, Greece), page 16

4. (linguistics) A survival of an archaic word, language or other form.  examples

Surviving, remaining.  examples

That is a relict; pertaining to a relict.  quotations  examples