obsolete
See also: obsolète
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- (adjective): absolete (obsolete)
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“worn out, gone out of use”), past participle of obsolēscere (“to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay”); see obsolesce.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
obsolete (comparative more obsolete, superlative most obsolete)
- (of words, equipment, etc.) No longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer).
- Synonyms: antiquated, deprecated, disused; see also Thesaurus:obsolete
- It is speculated that, within a few years, the Internet's speedy delivery of news worldwide will make newspapers obsolete.
- 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
- (biology) Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
- Synonyms: abortive, obscure, rudimental
- 1891, Charles Dixon, The Birds of Our Rambles: With a Companion for the Country, page 130:
- These two birds somewhat closely resemble each other, but the Sedge Warbler is russet-brown above, the feathers with dark centres, the pale buff eyestripe is very clearly defined, and the underparts are buffish white; the Reed Warbler is more olive on the upper parts, the feathers having no dark centres, the underparts are more inclined to buff, and the eyestripe is nearly obsolete.
Derived terms edit
Collocations edit
with nouns
- obsolete word
- obsolete phrase
- obsolete equipment
- obsolete computer
- obsolete technology
- obsolete weapon
- obsolete machine
- obsolete law
- obsolete statute
- obsolete currency
- obsolete building
- obsolete idea
- obsolete skill
- obsolete concept
- obsolete custom
- obsolete theory
- obsolete tradition
- obsolete institution
Translations edit
no longer in use
in biology: imperfectly developed
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Verb edit
obsolete (third-person singular simple present obsoletes, present participle obsoleting, simple past and past participle obsoleted)
- (transitive) To cause to become obsolete.
- This software component has been obsoleted.
- We are in the process of obsoleting this product.
- 2023 March 22, “Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter”, in Future of Life Institute[1]:
- Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?
Usage notes edit
- To obsolete is often used in computing and other technical fields to indicate an effort to remove or replace something.
- Compare deprecated (“no longer considered correct usage”).
Synonyms edit
- antiquate; see also Thesaurus:make older
Translations edit
to cause to become obsolete
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Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “obsolete”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “obsolete”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “obsolete”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Adjective edit
obsolete
- inflection of obsolet:
Italian edit
Adjective edit
obsolete f pl
Latin edit
Etymology 1 edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ob.soˈleː.teː/, [ɔps̠ɔˈɫ̪eːt̪eː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ob.soˈle.te/, [obsoˈlɛːt̪e]
Adverb edit
obsolētē (comparative obsolētius, superlative obsolētissimē)
- old
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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Etymology 2 edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ob.soˈleː.te/, [ɔps̠ɔˈɫ̪eːt̪ɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ob.soˈle.te/, [obsoˈlɛːt̪e]
Participle edit
obsolēte
References edit
- “obsolete”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers