extant Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
    • extant manuscripts
    • specimens of graphic art found among extant barbaric folk"- Edward Clodd

WordNet

Ex"tant adjective
Etymology
L. extans, -antis, or exstans, -antis, p.pr. of extare, exstare, to stand out or forth; ex out + stare to stand: cf. F. extant. See Stand.
Definitions
  1. Standing out or above any surface; protruded.
    That part of the teeth which is extant above the gums. Ray.
    A body partly immersed in a fluid and partly extant. Bentley.
  2. Still existing; not destroyed or lost; outstanding.
    Writings that were extant at that time. Sir M. Hale.
    The extant portraits of this great man. I. Taylor.
  3. Publicly known; conspicuous. Obs. B. Jonson.

Webster 1913