ancient vs ex-

ancient

adj
  • Relating to antiquity as a primarily European historical period; the time before the Middle Ages. 

  • Existent or occurring in time long past, usually in remote ages; belonging to or associated with antiquity; old, as opposed to modern. 

  • Having lasted from a remote period; having been of long duration; of great age, very old. 

noun
  • One of the senior members of the Inns of Court or of Chancery. 

  • A person who is very old. 

  • A person who lived in ancient times. 

ex-

prefix
  • former, but still living (almost always used with a hyphen) 

  • out of 

  • outside 

  • Lacking. 

How often have the words ancient and ex- occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )