classic

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Belonging to the highest rank or class.
2. adj. Serving as the established model or standard: a classic example of colonial architecture.
3. adj. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.
4. adj. Adhering or conforming to established standards and principles: a classic piece of research.
5. adj. Of a well-known type; typical: a classic mistake.
6. adj. Of or characteristic of the literature, art, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome; classical.
7. adj. Formal, refined, and restrained in style.
8. adj. Simple and harmonious; elegant: the classic cut of a suit; the classic lines of a clipper ship.
9. adj. Having historical or literary associations: classic battlefields of the Civil War.
10. n. An artist, author, or work generally considered to be of the highest rank or excellence, especially one of enduring significance.
11. n. A work recognized as definitive in its field.
12. n. A literary work of ancient Greece or Rome.
13. n. The languages and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Used with the.
14. n. One that is of the highest rank or class: The car was a classic of automotive design.
15. n. A typical or traditional example.
16. n. Informal A superior or unusual example of its kind: The reason he gave for being late was a classic.
17. n. A traditional event, especially a major sporting event that is held annually: a golf classic.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Belonging to or associated with the first or highest class, especially in literature; accepted as of the highest rank; serving as a standard, model, or guide.
2. Pertaining to or having the characteristics of ancient Greece or Rome, especially of their literature and art; specifically, relating to places associated with the ancient Greek and Latin writers.
3. Hence Relating to localities associated with great modern authors, or with great historical events: as, classic Stratford; classic Hastings.
4. In accordance with the canons of Greek and Roman art: as, a classic profile.
5. Same as classical, 5.
6. n. An author of the first rank; a writer whose style is pure and correct, and whose works serve as a standard or model; primarily and specifically, a Greek or Roman author of this character, but also a writer of like character in any nation.
7. n. A literary production of the first class or rank; specifically, in the plural, the literature of ancient Greece and Rome.
8. n. One versed in the classics.

Wiktionary

1. adj. exemplary of a particular style
2. adj. exhibiting timeless quality
3. n. A perfect and/or early example of a particular style.
4. n. An artistic work of lasting worth
5. n. A major, long-standing sporting event

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art.
2. adj. Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, esp. to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds.
3. adj. Conforming to the best authority in literature and art; chaste; pure; refined.
4. n. A work of acknowledged excellence and authority, or its author; -- originally used of Greek and Latin works or authors, but now applied to authors and works of a like character in any language.
5. n. One learned in the literature of Greece and Rome, or a student of classical literature.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. of or relating to the most highly developed stage of an earlier civilisation and its culture
2. adj. of recognized authority or excellence
3. adj. of or pertaining to or characteristic of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures
4. n. an artist who has created classic works
5. n. a creation of the highest excellence