Ancient means existing or occurring in times long past: ancient rituals; ancient coins. As applied to history, ancient refers to the period beginning with the earliest times and ending about the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476. Old , a more general word, must be qualified to avoid ambiguity. It may mean ancient : cowrie shells and other old forms of currency; or aged: Oxford is an old university; or it can be used as a substitute in some contexts for any of the other words in this group.

Antique is applied to that which has survived from the past, either from ancient times or from some less remote period. As used in describing furniture or other objects, antique may indicate an age of no more than several generations: an antique shop specializing in turn-of-the-century merchandise. Immemorial is applied to that which is so ancient that its origins are beyond all memory: immemorial customs. The word is often used in the phrase since time immemorial . Otherwise its use tends to sound grand and affected. Hoary , which literally means, white, grey, or having white or grey hair, is applied figuratively to things surviving from the distant past: hoary relics of ancient civilizations.