Definition of relict

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rel·ict    (rlkt, r-lkt) KEY 

NOUN:

1. Ecology An organism or species of an earlier time surviving in an environment that has undergone considerable change.
2. Something that has survived; a remnant.
3. A widow.

ADJECTIVE:
Geology

Of or relating to something that has survived, as structures or minerals after destructive processes.

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ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English relicte, left undisturbed, from Latin relictus, past participle of relinquere, to leave behind ; see relinquish. Sense 3, Middle English relicte from Medieval Latin relicta, from feminine past participle of Latin relinquere