What is the appropriate usage of 'extant'?


I saw this on a map today:



THE MOST APPROVED MAPS EXTANT;



The Collins dictionary says extant means:



still in existence; surviving



I hadn't heard the word used, by intuition it seemed to come from a day of seafarers 200 years ago. (Perhaps that is part of the marketing). To me it seemed logically replaced by existing.


My question is: What is the appropriate usage of 'extant'?


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Answer



Extant is generally used referring to:





  • ( something very old) still in existence. (OLD)



    • extant remains of the ancient wall

    • a limited number of documents from the period are still extant.





Extant:





  • Use the adjective extant to describe old things that are still around, like your extant diary from third grade or the only extant piece of pottery from certain craftspeople who lived hundreds of years ago.




  • Extant is the opposite of extinct: it refers to things that are here — they haven't disappeared or been destroyed. Use extant to describe things that it may be surprising to learn are still around — you wouldn't say jeans you bought last year are extant, but a pair of jeans worn by Marilyn Monroe back in the 1950s? Definitely extant.





(www.vocabulary.com)


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