Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of … 3 days ago · ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past. of or from a long time ago, having lasted for a very long time: 2. Ancient means belonging to the distant past, especially to the period in history before the end of the Roman Empire. They believed ancient Greece and Rome were vital sources of learning. ancient synonyms, ancient pronunciation, ancient translation, English dictionary definition of ancient. Ancient, antiquated, antique, old - fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom.Antiquated connotes something too … Ancient, antiquated, antique, old-fashioned refer to something dating from the past. Ancient implies existence or first occurrence in a distant past: an ancient custom.