arch

[ahrch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Architecture.

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.
an upwardly curved construction, as of steel or timber functioning in the manner of a masonry arch.
a doorway, gateway, etc., having a curved head; an archway.
the curved head of an opening, as a doorway.

any overhead curvature resembling an arch.

something bowed or curved; any bowlike part: the arch of the foot.

a device inserted in or built into shoes for supporting the arch of the foot.

a dam construction having the form of a barrel vault running vertically with its convex face toward the impounded water.

Glassmaking.

a chamber or opening in a glassmaking furnace.
pot arch.

verb (used with object)

to cover with a vault, or span with an arch: the rude bridge that arched the flood.

to throw or make into the shape of an arch or vault; curve: The horse arched its neck.

verb (used without object)

to form an arch: elms arching over the road.

Nautical. hog(def 14).

Origin of arch

1250–1300; Middle English arch(e) < Old French arche < Vulgar Latin *arca, feminine variant of Latin arcus arc

arch

[ahrch]

adjective

playfully roguish or mischievous: an arch smile.

cunning; crafty; sly.

noun

Obsolete. a person who is preeminent; a chief.

Origin of arch

independent use of arch-¹

arch.

archive; archives.

arch-

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 of arch-

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-

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

-arch

a combining form meaning “chief, leader, ruler,” used in the formation of compound words: monarch; matriarch; heresiarch.

Origin of -arch

< Greek -archos or -archēs, as comb. forms of árchos leader; cf. archi-

Arch.

Archbishop.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arch

sly, archway, arc, head, champion, expert, leading, top, premier, finished, primary, accomplished, chief, master, consummate, major, main, first, semicircle, span

Examples from the Web for arch

Contemporary Examples of arch

On the steps of the old courthouse in the shadow of the arch where Al Sharpton addressed a media horde.
Michael Brown's Hometown Is Under Occupation
Justin Glawe
August 13, 2014
You know it, I know it, the generals know it, Arch knows it, so what are we waiting for?
‘The Land of the Permanent Wave’ Is Bud Shrake’s Classic Take on ‘60s Texas
Edwin Shrake
February 2, 2014
But as I thought of the way we had been treated for the past week, I understood what Arch was telling me.
‘The Land of the Permanent Wave’ Is Bud Shrake’s Classic Take on ‘60s Texas
Edwin Shrake
February 2, 2014
Luke had been given the poison by his arch nemesis, Helena Cassadine.
Radioactive Revelations Raise the Question: Who Killed Arafat?
Maysoon Zayid
November 8, 2013
By 1976, after Arch Moore was exposed as what he was, Rockefeller won the governorship and served two terms.
Rockefeller's Retirement
Michael Tomasky
January 11, 2013

Historical Examples of arch

When the window was new it must have been surmounted in the middle of the arch by an ornamental design.
The Dream
Emile Zola
"That could not always have been your ladyship's opinion," said Belinda, with an arch smile.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Often and often have I been forced to smile at her arch turns upon me, when I could have beat her for them.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
The General turned an arch smile of perplexity upon his chief-of-staff.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable
In the midst of the assemblage one figure towers—the Arch Druid.
Bride of the Mistletoe
James Lane Allen

British Dictionary definitions for arch

arch

noun

a curved structure, normally in the vertical plane, that spans an opening

Also called: archway a structure in the form of an arch that serves as a gateway

something curved like an arch

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)
one of the basic patterns of the human fingerprint, formed by several curved ridges one above the otherCompare loop 1 (def. 10a), whorl (def. 3)

verb

(tr) to span (an opening) with an arch

to form or cause to form an arch or a curve resembling that of an archthe cat arched its back

(tr) to span or extend overthe bridge arched the flooded stream

Word Origin for arch

C14: from Old French arche, from Vulgar Latin arca (unattested), from Latin arcus bow, arc

arch

adjective

(prenominal) chief; principal; leadinghis arch rival

(prenominal) very experienced; expertan arch criminal

knowing or superior

playfully or affectedly roguish or mischievous

Derived Formsarchly, adverbarchness, noun

Word Origin for arch

C16: independent use of arch-

arch.

abbreviation for

archaic

archaism

-arch

n combining form

leader; ruler; chiefpatriarch; monarch; heresiarch

Word Origin for -arch

from Greek -arkhēs, from arkhein to rule; compare arch-

arch-

archi-

combining form

chief; principal; of highest rankarchangel; archbishop; archduke

eminent above all others of the same kind; extremearchenemy; archfiend; archfool

Word Origin for arch-

ultimately from Greek arkhi-, from arkhein to rule

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arch

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."

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

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.