arch
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) enPR: ärch, IPA(key): /ɑɹt͡ʃ/Category:English 1-syllable words#ARCHCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ARCH
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɑːt͡ʃ/Category:English 1-syllable words#ARCHCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ARCH
- (by analogy to arc, nonstandard) IPA(key): ((General American)) /ɑɹk/, ((Received Pronunciation)) /ɑːk/Category:English 1-syllable words#ARCHCategory:English 1-syllable words#ARCHCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ARCH
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#ARCHAudio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)tʃCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)tʃ#ARCHCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)tʃ/1 syllable#ARCH
Etymology 1
From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#ARCHCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#ARCH arch, arche, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#ARCH arche (“an arch”), a feminine form of arc, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#ARCH arcus (“a bow, arc, arch”). Doublet of arc and arcoCategory:English doublets#ARCH. Displaced native Old English bīeġels and Old English hwealf.
Noun
arch (plural arches)Category:English lemmas#ARCHCategory:English nouns#ARCHCategory:English countable nouns#ARCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- An inverted U shape.
- An arch-shaped arrangement of trapezoidal stones, designed to redistribute downward force outward.
- (architectureCategory:en:Architecture#ARCH) An architectural element having the shape of an arch
- Any place covered by an arch; an archway.
- to pass into the arch of a bridgeCategory:English terms with collocations#ARCH
- (archaicCategory:English terms with archaic senses#ARCH, geometryCategory:en:Geometry#ARCH) An arc; a part of a curve.
- A natural arch-shaped opening in a rock mass.
- (anatomyCategory:en:Anatomy#ARCH) The curved part of the bottom of a foot.
Derived terms
- abdominothoracic arch
- antitwilight arch
- aortic arch
- aortic arch syndrome
- arch bridge
- arch dell
- arch doxy
- arched
- arch enemy
- Arches
- archful
- Archgrounds
- arch harp
- archivolt
- archless
- archlet
- archlike
- archlute
- archmold
- archmould
- arch of the aorta
- archtop
- archway
- archwire
- archwise
- archwork
- balloon arch
- bell arch
- branchial arch
- camber arch
- counterarch
- cycloidal arch
- Dean of the Arches
- enarch
- equilateral arch
- fallen arch
- first arch syndrome
- flying arch
- geostatic arch
- gill arch
- Golden Arches
- Gothic arch
- haemal arch
- hemiarch
- horseshoe arch
- hyoid arch
- hyoidean arch
- interarch
- jack arch
- keel arch
- keyhole arch
- knife arch
- lancet arch
- Marble Arch
- Maya arch
- Mayan arch
- midarch
- Moorish arch
- neural arch
- nocturnal arch
- oblique arch
- overarch
- palaeoarch
- palatoglossal arch
- palatopharyngeal arch
- paleoarch
- pectoral arch
- pelvic arch
- Persian arch
- pharyngeal arch
- proscenium arch
- relieving arch
- Royal Arch
- safety arch
- scheme arch
- sea arch
- semiarch
- skew arch
- smoke arch
- stilted arch
- straight arch
- subarch
- Syrian arch
- tented arch
- triumphal arch
- Tudor arch
- uparch
- vertebral arch
- wheel arch
- zygomatic arch
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
arch (third-person singular simple present arches, present participle arching, simple past and past participle arched)Category:English lemmas#ARCHCategory:English verbs#ARCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#ARCH) To form into an arch shape.
- The cat arched its back.Category:English terms with usage examples#ARCH
- 2024 March 6, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Who will run our railways?”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 3:
- GBR will either be letting operating contracts or running rail companies directly, depending on which party wins the next General Election. Whichever it is, you can be forgiven for arching an eyebrow at an infrastructure company being placed in overall control.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#ARCH) To cover with an arch or arches.
Translations
References
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “arch”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Etymology 2
From the prefix arch-. "Principal" is the original sense; "mischievous" is via onetime frequent collocation with rogue, knave, etc.
Adjective
arch (comparative archer, superlative archest)Category:English lemmas#ARCHCategory:English adjectives#ARCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- Knowing, clever, mischievous.
- I attempted to hide my emotions, but an arch remark escaped my lips.Category:English terms with usage examples#ARCH
- 1710 July 15 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Tuesday, July 4, 1710”, in The Tatler, number 193; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume III, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC:
- [He] spoke his request with so arch a leer.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “Several Adventures that Happened to the Author. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page 247:
- I was every day furniſhing the Court with ſome ridiculous Story; and Glumdalclitch, although ſhe loved me to Exceſs, yet was arch enough to inform the Queen, whenever I committed any Folly that ſhe thought would be diverting to her Majeſty.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 112:
- “Oh!” cried Mrs. Green, with an arch laugh, “you are acquainted with Monsieur Margot, then?”Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 46, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
- Blanche’s grey eyes gazed at Foker with such an arch twinkle that both of them burst out laughing […]Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1906 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “By Courier”, in The Four Million, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co, →OCLC:
- A certain melancholy that touched her countenance must have been of recent birth, for it had not yet altered the fine and youthful contours of her cheek, nor subdued the arch though resolute curve of her lips.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 3, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
- Lassiter ended there with dry humor, yet behind that was meaning. Jane blushed and made arch eyes at him.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 2017 June 30, Ruth La Ferla, “In ‘The Beguiled,’ Pretty Confections Whipped Up to Seduce”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Not trusting filmgoers to catch the drift, Ms. Coppola underscores the women’s attempts to gussy up with snippets of arch dialogue.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 2021 July 12, Nicholas Barber, “The French Dispatch: Four stars for Wes Anderson's latest”, in BBC:
- When you're watching a Wes Anderson film, you know it. Within seconds, you spot the symmetrical compositions, the horizontal camera moves, the blocks of garish colour, the san-serif lettering, the arch, wordy, vaguely melancholy humour and all the other elements that distinguish his comedies from everyone else's.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 2023 March 14, Alexandra Jacobs, “Your Annoying Roommate Is Slaying on TikTok”, in The New York Times:
- Ms. Brier specializes in point of view, or P.O.V., videos that confront relatable, often hateable characters, with a subtle sneer, gleefully rubbery body and arch delivery of generational catchphrases like “slay, queen” and “I got you,” often repeated for effect.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- (IrelandCategory:Irish English#ARCH) Cute, sly, prematurely wise.[1]
- Principal; primary.
- They were arch enemies.Category:English terms with usage examples#ARCH
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- the most arch act of piteous massacreCategory:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- 1928 February 25 – March 3, Arthur Conan Doyle, “When the World Screamed”, in The Professor Challenger Stories […], London: John Murray, […], published [1952], →OCLC, page 577:
- Challenger the super scientist, Challenger the arch-pioneer, Challenger the first man of all men whom Mother Earth had been compelled to recognize.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
Derived terms
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun
arch (plural arches)Category:English lemmas#ARCHCategory:English nouns#ARCHCategory:English countable nouns#ARCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#ARCH) A chief.
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- My worthy arch and patron comes to-night.Category:English terms with quotations#ARCH
- (video gamesCategory:en:Video games#ARCH) Synonym of god (“person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon”).
References
- ↑ J. J. Hogan and Patrick C. O'Neill (1947), “A NORTH-COUNTY DUBLIN GLOSSARY”, in Béaloideas, volume 17, number 1/2, An Cumann Le Béaloideas Eireann/Folklore of lreland Society, page 263
Etymology 3
Clipping of architectureCategory:English clippings#ARCH.
Noun
arch (plural arches)Category:English lemmas#ARCHCategory:English nouns#ARCHCategory:English countable nouns#ARCHCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- (electronicsCategory:en:Electronics#ARCH, operating systemsCategory:en:Software#ARCH) An architecture; a computer architecture or instruction set architecture.
- In the Linux kernel, arch-specific code lives in the arch directory of the source tree.Category:English terms with usage examples#ARCH
See also
Further reading
- “arch”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “arch”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “arch”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
arch m inanCategory:Czech lemmas#ARHCategory:Czech nouns#ARHCategory:Czech entries with incorrect language header#ARHCategory:Czech masculine nouns#ARHCategory:Czech inanimate nouns#ARHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- sheet (in printing)
Declension
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old DutchCategory:Middle Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch#ARCH *arg, from Proto-GermanicCategory:Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic#ARCH *argaz.
Adjective
archCategory:Middle Dutch lemmas#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch adjectives#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Inflection
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
| nominative | indefinite | arch | arge | arch | arge |
| definite | arge | arge | |||
| accusative | indefinite | argen | arge | arch | arge |
| definite | arge | ||||
| genitive | indefinite | archs | arger | archs | arger |
| definite | archs, argen | archs, argen | |||
| dative | argen | arger | argen | argen | |
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
A substantive form of the adjective arch.
Noun
arch nCategory:Middle Dutch lemmas#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch nouns#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Middle Dutch neuter nouns#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Inflection
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | arch | arch, arge |
| accusative | arch | arch, arge |
| genitive | archs | arge |
| dative | arge | argen |
Further reading
- “arch (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- “arch (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “arch (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “arch (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page II
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old FrenchCategory:Middle English terms borrowed from Old French#ARCHCategory:Middle English terms derived from Old French#ARCH arche.
Noun
archCategory:Middle English lemmas#ARCHCategory:Middle English nouns#ARCHCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH (plural arches)
Descendants
- English: arch
References
- “arch(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Middle Welsh
Etymology
From the root of erchi (“to request”), from Proto-CelticCategory:Middle Welsh terms inherited from Proto-Celtic#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh terms derived from Proto-Celtic#ARC *ɸarsketi, from Proto-Indo-EuropeanCategory:Middle Welsh terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ARC *preḱ-.
Pronunciation
Noun
arch fCategory:Middle Welsh lemmas#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh nouns#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh entries with incorrect language header#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh feminine nouns#ARCCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Verb
archCategory:Middle Welsh non-lemma forms#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh verb forms#ARCCategory:Middle Welsh entries with incorrect language header#ARCCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Mutation
Scots
Noun
arch (plural archs)Category:Scots lemmas#ARCHCategory:Scots nouns#ARCHCategory:Scots nouns with red links in their headword lines#ARCHCategory:Scots entries with incorrect language header#ARCHCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- alternative form of airch
References
- “arch, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
Welsh
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle WelshCategory:Welsh terms inherited from Middle Welsh#ARCCategory:Welsh terms derived from Middle Welsh#ARC arch, from Proto-BrythonicCategory:Welsh terms derived from Proto-Brythonic#ARC *arx, from LatinCategory:Welsh terms derived from Latin#ARC arca.
Noun
arch f (plural eirch)Category:Welsh lemmas#ARCCategory:Welsh nouns#ARCCategory:Welsh countable nouns#ARCCategory:Welsh entries with incorrect language header#ARCCategory:Welsh feminine nouns#ARCCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
- (obsoleteCategory:Welsh terms with obsolete senses#ARC) chest, coffer
- coffin (a box for the dead)
- 2020 February 28, BBC Cymru Fyw:
- Mae’r arddangosfa yn ymchwilio i’r modd y caiff y corff dynol ei gadw wedi marwolaeth. Penllanw deng mlynedd o waith yw’r casgliad o jariau claddu ac eirch carreg maint llawn.Category:Welsh terms with quotations#ARC
- The exhibition explores the way in which the human body is preserved after daeth. The collection of burial jars full-size stone coffins is the culmination of ten years' work.
- ark (a large boat with a flat bottom)
- 1588, William Morgan, transl., Y Beibl : Y Beibl cyssegr-lan, 1st edition, London: Humphrey Toy, LLyfr cyntaf Moſes yr hwn a elwir Gᴇɴᴇsɪs 6:2–14:
- A Duw a ddywedodd wrth Noah, diwedd pôb cnawd a ddaeth ger fy mron: o blegit llanwyd y ddaiar a thrawſedd oi herwydd hwynt: ac wele myfi ai difethaf hwynt gyd ar ddaiar. Gwna di it Arch o goed Gopher, yn gellau y gwnei'r Arch, a phŷga hi oddi fewn, ac oddi allan a phŷg.Category:Welsh terms with quotations#ARC
- And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Derived terms
- arch Noa (“Noah's Ark”)
- arch y Cyfamod (“Ark of the Covenant”)
- bwa'r arch (“rainbow”)
Etymology 2
A back-formation from erchi (“to seek, ask for”).
Noun
arch f (plural eirchion)Category:Welsh lemmas#ARCCategory:Welsh nouns#ARCCategory:Welsh countable nouns#ARCCategory:Welsh entries with incorrect language header#ARCCategory:Welsh feminine nouns#ARCCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Derived terms
- archeb (“order”)
Etymology 3
An inflected form of erchi (“to seek, ask for”).
Verb
archCategory:Welsh non-lemma forms#ARCCategory:Welsh verb forms#ARCCategory:Welsh entries with incorrect language header#ARCCategory:Pages with entries#ARCHCategory:Pages with 7 entries#ARCH
Mutation
| radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
|---|---|---|---|
| arch | unchanged | unchanged | harch |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “arch”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies