extant

Oh dear, I've neglected this little project. Summoned back by an unlikely but elegant little word, it seems that this word's always been around, slipping in and out of the room, avoiding a direct look or even a glance -- but undeniably present, at times.

Look at that Latin etymology. "...to stand out or forth ..."

But, more to the point is, 'way down in the definition, is "Still existing; not destroyed or lost; outstanding." Ah. That's it. Not destroyed, not lost, still existing. So not just existing, but still existing. Not destroyed. And not lost.

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Extant
Extant Ex"tant, a. [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.]
1. Standing out or above any surface; protruded.
[1913 Webster]

That part of the teeth which is extant above the
gums. --Ray.
[1913 Webster]

A body partly immersed in a fluid and partly extant.
--Bentley.
[1913 Webster]

2. Still existing; not destroyed or lost; outstanding.
[1913 Webster]

Writings that were extant at that time. --Sir M.
Hale.
[1913 Webster]

The extant portraits of this great man. --I. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]

3. Publicly known; conspicuous. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]

-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

extant
adj : still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost;
"extant manuscripts"; "specimens of graphic art found
among extant barbaric folk"- Edward Clodd [ant: extinct]

-- From WordNet (r) 2.0

37 Moby Thesaurus words for "extant":
actual, alive, around, as is, being, contemporaneous, contemporary,
current, existent, existing, fresh, immanent, immediate, in being,
in effect, in existence, in force, instant, latest, living, modern,
new, on foot, present, present-age, present-day, present-time,
prevalent, running, subsistent, subsisting, that be, that is,
topical, under the sun, up-to-date, up-to-the-minute



-- From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0