📜 Extant: Still Here After All These Years
EXTANT most nearly means: A) extinct; B) still in existence; C) ancient; D) renowned. Answer inside. 👉️
When something is extant, it's still around. It hasn't been destroyed, lost, or wiped out—it survived. You'll see this word a lot when people talk about old documents, dead languages (i.e., languages for which there are no native speakers, like Latin), or an artist’s works. If a library says a manuscript is the "oldest extant copy," that means older copies probably existed once, but they're gone now, and this is the oldest one that’s still around.
📚️ Definition of Extant
Extant (adjective): Still in existence; not destroyed, lost, or extinct. Example: the oldest extant copy of a text.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Extant
IPA: /ɪkˈstænt/ (See IPA key)
Phonetic: ik-STANT
📰 Examples of Extant
Here are some examples of the word extant:
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only the Pyramid of Giza is still extant. It also happens to be the oldest of all seven.
The oldest extant copy of Beowulf, known as the Nowell Codex, is housed at the British Library and is probably a little more than 1,000 years old.
In genetic terms, all extant populations are remarkably equivalent because we all share a common biological heritage.
🗣️ Common Collocations of Extant
A collocation is a group of words often found together in usage, for example, figment of one’s imagination, extenuating circumstances, or inclement weather.
the oldest extant copy
extant manuscripts
extant species
still extant
no longer extant
Quiz answer: B, still in existence.