- classic (adj.)
- 1610s, from French classique (17c.), from Latin classicus "relating to the (highest) classes of the Roman people," hence, "superior," from classis (see class). Originally in English "of the first class;" meaning "belonging to standard authors of Greek and Roman antiquity" is attested from 1620s. Classics is 1711, and is the earliest form of the word to be used as a noun.