Emily Dickinson Lexicon

REL'IC, n. [Fr. relique; L. reliquiæ, from relinquo, to leave; re and linquo.]

1. That which remains; that which is left after the loss or decay of the rest; as, the relics of a town; the relics of magnificence; the relics of antiquity. The relics of saints, real or pretended, are held in great veneration by the Romanists.
2. The body of a deceased person; a corpse. [Usually in the plural.] – Dryden. Pope.