The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word PRIMORDIAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
R
I
M
O
R
D
I
A
L
More clues leading to the result PRIMORDIAL
- Original clock face has proper gold on it
- Ancient men grabbed by old-maidish kisser
- Stiffly formal or cryptically relaxed from the start?
- Original note omitted from strait- laced prayer-book
- Formal face on receiving gold for first
- Stuffy ring about serving men? That’s rudimentary
- Earliest Victorian gold ring
- Particular gold put on face first
- First, decorous old piece's placed back
- Early or mid-april changes
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Ancient" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ancient = primordial.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PRIMORDIAL mean?
PRIMORDIAL noun- A first principle or element.
- First, earliest or original
- Characteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism, or relating to a primordium
- Primeval