2880: Antic, Antics, & Antique Nov 9, 2024

‘Antic’ and ‘antics’ in practice are very different words, with the former referring to things that are grotesque and offputting, and the other is much softer referring to amusing our even outlandish behavior. Far more different to either of those that diverged in the late 15th or early 16th century, is ‘antique’, from the same root. 

The meaning of ‘antique’ is the original sense of the word, from ‘ante-’ meaning ‘before’ in Latin and specifically ‘antiquus’ (venerable), but in terms of pronunciation and spelling ‘antic’ was the original for English. While the meaning of grotesque [both it and ‘grotesque’ came to have negative connotations from Roman murals] came later and led to the sense of ‘antic’, the spelling was reverted to the French style and pronunciation in the 17th century.