Classic

The word classic has several meanings. In general, these meanings refer to some past time. Something that is classical is a classic, but the word classic has more meanings, often more closely associated with popular culture and mass-produced goods.

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a long period of history centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. This period is conventionally taken to stretch from roughly the 7th or 8th century BC to the 5th century AD. It is often seen as a golden age of Western civilisation, preceding the dark ages of the early medieval period.

• The classics are the language and culture of classical antiquity, particularly its literature. Hence, each work that falls into this category can be considered a classic.

Golden age

The word classical can also be used to refer to any period considered to be a golden age.

• Mesoamerican classic period, a span of time from roughly 250 to 900 AD when Mesoamerican civilisation was considered to have been at its peak.
• Classic rock, rock songs ranging from the early-1960s through to the early-1980s

Something old

• Classic car, a term used to favourably describe an older car
• Classic stamp, a postage stamp considered distinctive by philatelists
• Fisher Classic a biplane designed to look like an older aircraft
• Scroshits Classic your basic biscuit classic

Retronym

A retronym is the modification of the original name of an object or concept to differentiate it from a more recent version. The word classic is commonly used as part of a retronym, particularly for mass-produced products where the manufacturer wishes to continue the production of a superseded product under a modified name.

• Classic (transit bus), a type of transit bus manufactured from 1982 to 1997
• The Rambler Classic, a mid-size car produced by American Motors
• Coca-Cola Classic, a name used for the relaunch of Coca-Cola after the failure of what is now called the New Coke recipe change.
• Three things produced by Apple Inc.:
  • Macintosh Classic, a personal computer
  • iPod Classic, a portable media player
  • Classic Environment, a hardware and software abstraction layer

Usage in sport

Many things in sport take the name classic. Sometimes this indicates something longstanding. Sometimes it indicates something that follows an old practice. Sometimes it is just a name.

• Classic horse races:
  • British Classic Races
  • American Classic Races
  • Japanese Classic Races
  • French Classic Races
• World Baseball Classic, an international baseball competition held every four years
• Classic cycle races, prestigious one-day professional cycling road races
• Snooker tournaments:
  • Classic (snooker)
  • Dubai Duty Free Classic
  • Lucan Racing Irish Classic
  • Jiangsu Classic
• Team Classic, a Major League Gaming team
• College Basketball Classic, a college basketball single-elimination tournament at the start of the U.S. college basketball season that generally consists of eight schools and has classification games to place them 1st-8th, so that each school will play three games. One of the basketball conferences will generally serve as host:
  • Charleston Classic
  • 76 Classic
  • Old Spice Classic

An object of devotion

A work of popular culture that inspires devotion or respect is often called a classic.

• Cult classic, a film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans.
• Instant classic, a work of popular culture, particularly popular music, that inspires instant devotion and the belief that it will be considered a classic in future.

Works with the word classic in the title

• The Classic, a Korean movie
• "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)", a 2007 song by Kanye West, Nas, Rakim, KRS-One and DJ Premier

See also

• Classicism
• Classics (disambiguation)
• Class (disambiguation)
• Four Great Classical Novels (in China)