arch1

[ahrch] /ɑrtʃ/
noun
1.
Architecture.
  1. a curved masonry construction for spanning an opening, consisting of a number of wedgelike stones, bricks, or the like, set with the narrower side toward the opening in such a way that forces on the arch are transmitted as vertical or oblique stresses on either side of the opening.
  2. an upwardly curved construction, as of steel or timber functioning in the manner of a masonry arch.
  3. a doorway, gateway, etc., having a curved head; an archway.
  4. the curved head of an opening, as a doorway.
2.
any overhead curvature resembling an arch.
3.
something bowed or curved; any bowlike part:
the arch of the foot.
4.
a device inserted in or built into shoes for supporting the arch of the foot.
5.
a dam construction having the form of a barrel vault running vertically with its convex face toward the impounded water.
6.
Glassmaking.
  1. a chamber or opening in a glassmaking furnace.
  2. pot arch.
verb (used with object)
7.
to cover with a vault, or span with an arch:
the rude bridge that arched the flood.
8.
to throw or make into the shape of an arch or vault; curve:
The horse arched its neck.
verb (used without object)
9.
to form an arch:
elms arching over the road.
10.
Nautical, hog (def 14).
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English arch(e) < Old French arche < Vulgar Latin *arca, feminine variant of Latin arcus arc

arch2

[ahrch] /ɑrtʃ/
adjective
1.
playfully roguish or mischievous:
an arch smile.
2.
cunning; crafty; sly.
noun
3.
Obsolete. a person who is preeminent; a chief.
Origin
independent use of arch-1

arch-1

1.
a combining form that represents the outcome of archi- in words borrowed through Latin from Greek in the Old English period; it subsequently became a productive form added to nouns of any origin, which thus denote individuals or institutions directing or having authority over others of their class (archbishop; archdiocese; archpriest). More recently, arch-1, has developed the senses “principal” (archenemy; archrival) or “prototypical” and thus exemplary or extreme (archconservative); nouns so formed are almost always pejorative.
Origin
Middle English; Old English arce-, ærce-, erce- (> Old Norse erki-) < Latin archi- < Greek (see archi-); but Dutch aarts-, Middle Low German erse-, Middle High German, German Erz- < Medieval Latin arci-, and Gothic ark- directly < Greek. Cf. archangel

arch-2

1.
variant of archi- before a vowel:
archangel; archenteron.

-arch

1.
a combining form meaning “chief, leader, ruler,” used in the formation of compound words:
monarch; matriarch; heresiarch.
Origin
< Greek -archos or -archēs, as comb. forms of árchos leader; cf. archi-

Arch.

1.
Archbishop.

arch.

1.
archaic.
2.
archaism.
3.
archery.
4.
archipelago.
5.
architect.
6.
architectural.
7.
architecture.
8.
archive; archives.
Examples from the web for arch
  • We were going to climb up for a close look at a natural sandstone arch which had just been discovered recently.
  • The Reverend's eyebrows arch, hairy tepees form on his forehead.
  • Mind and heart racing, I arch my body across the tube, off the water.
  • If you look at the foot from the side, it is the bone that sits at the top of the arch.
  • This makes it a three-side structure, and each side is marked bv a long, sweeping arch.
  • Several gray forms, gleaming in the sunlight, arch through the water .
  • This collection of short stories is arch and populated with over-analytical, talky teenagers.
  • She gave only the faintest of starts, the merest arch of an eyebrow.
  • The furry star is fittingly egotistical and arch, whimsical and proud.
  • Spandrel is an architectural term for the space between an arch and its surrounding structure.
British Dictionary definitions for arch

arch1

/ɑːtʃ/
noun
1.
a curved structure, normally in the vertical plane, that spans an opening
2.
Also called archway. a structure in the form of an arch that serves as a gateway
3.
something curved like an arch
4.
  1. any of various parts or structures of the body having a curved or archlike outline, such as the transverse portion of the aorta (arch of the aorta) or the raised bony vault formed by the tarsal and metatarsal bones (arch of the foot)
  2. one of the basic patterns of the human fingerprint, formed by several curved ridges one above the other Compare loop1 (sense 10a), whorl (sense 3)
verb
5.
(transitive) to span (an opening) with an arch
6.
to form or cause to form an arch or a curve resembling that of an arch: the cat arched its back
7.
(transitive) to span or extend over: the bridge arched the flooded stream
Word Origin
C14: from Old French arche, from Vulgar Latin arca (unattested), from Latin arcus bow, arc

arch2

/ɑːtʃ/
adjective
1.
(prenominal) chief; principal; leading: his arch rival
2.
(prenominal) very experienced; expert: an arch criminal
3.
knowing or superior
4.
playfully or affectedly roguish or mischievous
Derived Forms
archly, adverb
archness, noun
Word Origin
C16: independent use of arch-

arch-

combining form
1.
chief; principal; of highest rank: archangel, archbishop, archduke
2.
eminent above all others of the same kind; extreme: archenemy, archfiend, archfool
Word Origin
ultimately from Greek arkhi-, from arkhein to rule

arch.

abbreviation
1.
archaic
2.
archaism

-arch

combining form
1.
leader; ruler; chief: patriarch, monarch, heresiarch
Word Origin
from Greek -arkhēs, from arkhein to rule; compare arch-
Word Origin and History for arch
n.

c.1300, from Old French arche "arch of a bridge" (12c.), from Latin arcus "a bow" (see arc). Replaced native bow (n.1). Originally architectural in English; transferred by early 15c. to anything having this form (eyebrows, etc.).

adj.

1540s, "chief, principal," from prefix arch-; used in 12c. archangel, etc., but extended to so many derogatory uses (arch-rogue, arch-knave, etc.) that by mid-17c. it acquired a meaning of "roguish, mischievous," since softened to "saucy." Also found in archwife (late 14c.), variously defined as "a wife of a superior order" or "a dominating woman, virago."

v.

early 14c., "to form an arch" (implied in arched); c.1400, "to furnish with an arch," from arch (n.). Related: Arching.

arch-

also archi-, word-forming element meaning "chief, principal; extreme, ultra; early, primitive," from Latinized form of Greek arkh-, arkhi- "first, chief, primeval," comb. form of arkhos "chief" (see archon).

-arch

word-forming element meaning "a ruler," from Greek arkhos "leader, chief, ruler," from arkhe "beginning, origin, first place" (see archon).

arch in Medicine

arch (ärch)
n.
An organ or structure having a curved or bowlike appearance, especially either of two arched sections of the bony structure of the foot.

arch in Culture

arch definition


In architecture, a curved or pointed opening that spans a doorway, window, or other space.

Note: The form of arch used in building often serves to distinguish styles of architecture from one another. For example, Romanesque architecture usually employs a round arch, and Gothic architecture, a pointed arch.
Related Abbreviations for arch

arch.

  1. archaic
  2. archaism
  3. archery
  4. archipelago
  5. architect
  6. architectural
  7. architecture
  8. archives

Arch.

archbishop
arch in the Bible

an architectural term found only in Ezek. 40:16, 21, 22, 26, 29. There is no absolute proof that the Israelites employed arches in their buildings. The arch was employed in the building of the pyramids of Egypt. The oldest existing arch is at Thebes, and bears the date B.C. 1350. There are also still found the remains of an arch, known as Robinson's Arch, of the bridge connecting Zion and Moriah. (See TYROPOEON VALLEY.)