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.
of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or in the style of the middle ages:
medieval architecture.
compare .
informal. extremely old-fashioned; primitive.
historical examples

notice the anachronism of the transfer of the mediaeval sport to legendary greece.
palamon and arcite john dryden

such a belief was indeed the bedrock of mediaeval political thought.
progress and history various

the blason des armes et des dames takes up a mediaeval theme in a mediaeval style.
a short history of french literature george saintsbury

the schools of mediaeval learning were filled with arabian teachers.
pages from an old volume of life oliver wendell holmes, sr.

reference has also been made to the construction of a mediaeval castle within its area.
english coast defences george clinch

henceforth all the mediaeval chalices were fashioned with a six-sided foot.
english villages p. h. ditchfield

this is supposed to rob the mediaeval universities of any prestige that may come to them for this marvellous progress.
education: how old the new james j. walsh

what is meant by the “middle ages” or the “mediaeval” period?
introductory american history henry eldridge bourne

a mediaeval illuminator would have jumped out of his sandals in his eagerness to ill-strate that.
eyes of youth various

it is neither asiatic nor mediaeval in its essential character.
the legacy of greece various

adjective
a variant spelling of medieval
adjective
of, relating to, or in the style of the middle ages
(informal) old-fashioned; primitive

see medieval.
adj.

1827, “pertaining to or suggestive of the middle ages,” coined in english from latin medium “the middle” (see medium (n.)) + aevum “age” (see eon).

a descriptive term for people, objects, events, and inst-tutions of the middle ages.

note: “medieval” is sometimes used as a term of disapproval for outdated ideas and customs. it may suggest inhuman practices, such as torture of prisoners. (see inquisition.)