Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Relic

Relic (r?l"?k) , noun

[French relique, from Latin reliquiae, pl., akin to relinquere to leave behind. See Relinquish.]

1.
That which remains; that which is left after loss or decay; a remaining portion; a remnant. — Chaucer. Wyclif
The relics of lost innocence. — Kebe
The fragments, scraps, the bits and greasy relics. — Shakespeare
2.
The body from which the soul has departed; a corpse; especially, the body, or some part of the body, of a deceased saint or martyr; -- usually in the plural when referring to the whole body.
There are very few treasuries of relics in Italy that have not a tooth or a bone of this saint. — Addison
Thy relics, Rowe, to this fair urn we trust, And sacred place by Dryden's awful dust. — Pope
3.
Hence, a memorial; anything preserved in remembrance; as, relics of youthful days or friendships.
The pearls were spilt; Some lost, some stolen, some as relics kept. — Tennyson