The phrase "ancient meaning" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the historical significance or interpretation of a word, phrase, or concept from a long time ago.
Example: "The ancient meaning of the word 'wisdom' can be traced back to various philosophical texts from centuries past."
Alternatives: "historical significance" or "original interpretation".
It is, in the ancient meaning of the word, a radical act.
lassical scholarship, rebuilding ancient meaning from papyrus fragments and linguistic likelihood, is suddenly the new image for obsessive love.
It was hard not to read into the handshake its ancient meaning: the open, outstretched hand holds no weapon; the clasped pair of hands can push no buttons.
Power to the people is a worldwide revolutionary slogan advancing democracy, but presupposes a more ancient meaning: the prehistoric conquest of every other vertebrate on earth.
For Ms. Wu, the word's ancient meaning of "teacher" is more relevant than its contemporary meaning of man; it can be understood as a gender-neutral accolade.
Refusing all offers of employment from the powerful feudal rulers, he and his son Itō Tōgai (1670 1736) founded the Kogidō ("Hall of Ancient Meaning") school in Kyōto.
I now realize that at the very least the quintessence of the here-and-now must be tempered with the wisdom of the ancients, meaning something written, thought or said sometime before the day before yesterday.
The noun resume, comes down from the ancients, meaning bio, or curriculum vitae.
The word Lepidoptera comes from the Latin word for "scaly wing", from the Ancient Greek meaning scale and meaning wing.
The word genetics stems from the Ancient Greek meaning "genitive"/ generative", which in turn derives from meaning "origin".
Possible ancient ritual meaning is suggested by the frequent belief that if a sword is touched, even lightly, the dance must be stopped.
