What does relics mean?
Relics are objects, bodily remains, or fragments connected with people, institutions, or eras of the past. Their best-known religious sense refers to items associated with saints and other holy figures, such as bones, garments, possessions, or objects believed to have touched them. These remains have traditionally been preserved, displayed, and venerated as sources of spiritual protection and power. In general historical usage, relics are surviving traces or artifacts that provide tangible evidence about former times. The word consequently carries both sacred and antiquarian associations: religious relics suggest devotion and miracles, whereas secular relics evoke history, loss, preservation, and the passage of time. Relics is always plural in form, with “relic” serving as its singular, and it is especially common in discussions of medieval Christianity, museums, archaeology, and the material remains of extinct or distant cultures.
nounRelics are physical remains or objects associated with a holy person, especially a saint, that are venerated for their spiritual significance. More generally, relics are surviving traces, fragments, or remnants of an earlier period.
- Objects, body parts, garments, or personal belongings associated with a saint or other holy person and venerated as having religious significance.
- Surviving fragments, traces, or remains from an earlier period, especially objects valued as evidence of the past.
"The cathedral displayed several ancient relics associated with the saint."
"The pilgrims believed that the bones were holy relics and built a shrine around them."
"Museum curators preserve industrial relics that document the development of the nineteenth-century city."
The standard plural noun is “relics”; its singular is “relic.”
"The exhibition brought together relics from ancient settlements across the region."
The medieval relic trade turned fragments of the past—and the bodies of the holy—into objects of devotion, controversy, and astonishing wealth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of relics
The word comes through Old French “reliques,” from Latin “reliquiae,” meaning “remains” or “things left behind.” The Latin term was adopted in medieval Christian usage for bodily remains and objects associated with holy people, while related forms developed for containers and comparative or surviving remnants. English “relic” was shaped by French religious usage and later broadened to encompass fragments and traces of earlier periods.
Related word forms
How relics is actually used
This is a plural noun; the singular is “relic.” In religious contexts, the word can suggest sanctity, reverence, or disputed authenticity, while its secular use conveys antiquity, historical value, and evidential importance.
Easily confused with relics
Relics are remains or objects associated with a person or era, whereas relishes are savoury accompaniments to food.