classic

Definitions

class (rank) + -ic (relating to) = 'belonging to the highest class.' The Romans called their best writers scriptores classici, 'first-class authors.' So classic means top-rank, model quality — and in the idiom 'a classic mistake' it means the most typical, textbook example of its kind.

Common Collocations

• 1.a classic example典型例子
• 2.classic design经典设计
• 3.classic car经典老爷车
• 4.an instant classic一面世即成经典
• 5.a classic mistake典型错误

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Pride and Prejudice is a classic of English literature.

• 2.

  She wore a classic black dress that never goes out of style.

• 3.

  Forgetting to save the file is a classic beginner's mistake.

Easily Confused

classic vs classical — classic = best-of-its-kind, timeless, or textbook-typical (a classic novel, a classic blunder). classical = belonging to ancient Greece/Rome or to formal art music (classical languages, classical music). A classic car is a great old car; classical music is Mozart. If you mean 'definitive/typical,' use classic; if you mean 'ancient Greco-Roman or orchestral-tradition,' use classical.