Relic vs. Relict

By Jaxson

Main Difference

The main difference between Relic and Relict is that the Relic is a ancient religious object preserved for purposes of veneration and Relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon

  • Relic

    In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning “remains”, and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to “leave behind, or abandon”. A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

  • Relict

    A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.

    In biology a relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.A glacial relict is a cold-adapted organism that is a remnant of a larger distribution that existed in the ice ages.In ecology, an ecosystem which originally ranged over a large expanse, but is now narrowly confined, may be termed a relict.

    In geology, a relict is a structure or mineral from a parent rock that did not undergo metamorphosis when the surrounding rock did, or a rock that survived a destructive geologic process.

    In geomorphology, a relict landform is a landform formed by either erosive or constructive surficial processes that are no longer active as they were in the past.

    In agronomy, a relict crop is a crop which was previously grown extensively, but is now only used in one limited region, or a small number of isolated regions.

    In history (as revealed in DNA testing), a relict population is an ancient people in an area who have been largely supplanted by a later group of migrants and their descendants.

    In real estate law, reliction is the gradual recession of water from its usual high-water mark so that the newly uncovered land becomes the property of the adjoining riparian property owner.Other uses:

    In addition, relict was an ancient term still used in colonial (British) America, and in England of that era, but now archaic, for a widow; it has come to be a generic or collective term for widows and widowers.

    In historical linguistics, a relict is a word that is a survivor of a form or forms that are otherwise archaic.

Wikipedia
  • Relic (noun)

    That which remains; that which is left after loss or decay; a remaining portion.

  • Relic (noun)

    Something old and outdated, possibly kept for sentimental reasons.

  • Relic (noun)

    A part of the body of a saint, or an ancient religious object, kept for veneration.

  • Relic (verb)

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

  • Relict (noun)

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

  • Relict (noun)

    The surviving member of a married couple after one or the other has died; a widow or widower.

  • Relict (noun)

    A species, organism{{,}} or ecosystem which has survived from a previous age: one which was once widespread but which is now found only in a few areas.

  • Relict (noun)

    A structure or other feature which has survived from a previous age.

Wiktionary
  • Relic (noun)

    an object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical interest

    “a museum of railway relics”

  • Relic (noun)

    a part of a deceased holy person’s body or belongings kept as an object of reverence

    “miracles wrought by the relics of St Stephen”

  • Relic (noun)

    a person or thing that has survived from an earlier time but is now outmoded

    “the supermodel has become an embarrassing relic from the early 1990s”

Oxford Dictionary

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