archive

American  

[ahr-kahyv] / ˈɑr kaɪv /

noun

1. Usually archives. documents or records relating to the activities, business dealings, etc., of a person, family, corporation, association, community, or nation.

2. archives, a place where public records or other historical documents are kept.

3. any extensive record or collection of data.

   The encyclopedia is an archive of world history. The experience was sealed in the archive of her memory.

4. Digital Technology.

   1. a long-term storage device, as a disk or magnetic tape, or a computer directory or folder that contains copies of files for backup or future reference.

   2. a collection of digital data stored in this way.

   3. a computer file containing one or more compressed files.

   4. a collection of information permanently stored on the internet.

      The magazine has its entire archive online, from 1923 to the present.

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verb (used with object)

archived, archiving

1. to place or store in an archive.

   to vote on archiving the city's historic documents.

2. Digital Technology. to compress (computer files) and store them in a single file.

archive British  

/ ˈɑːkaɪv /

noun

1. a collection of records of or about an institution, family, etc

2. a place where such records are kept

3. computing data transferred to a tape or disk for long-term storage rather than frequent use

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verb

1. to store (documents, data, etc) in an archive or other repository

Other Word Forms

• archival adjective

Etymology

Origin of archive

First recorded in 1595–1605; originally, as plural, from French archives, from the Late Latin plural noun archīva, archīa “public records,” from Greek archeîa “public records,” plural of archeîon “town hall, public office,” equivalent to archḗ “magistracy, office” + -eion suffix of location

Example Sentences

Every detail of the party came from something found in Arnold’s archive.

From Los Angeles Times

She recommends ensuring your LinkedIn headline isn’t vague, your About section isn’t bloated and your Experience section doesn’t read like a “resumé archive.”

From MarketWatch

AFP has archived these files and tracked evolutions in these categories from the very first days of the conflict.

From Barron's

His latest album "African West Station" is a remarkable work of "musical pan-Africanism", the culmination of four years of research into the archives of post-independence west African music from the 1960s to '80s.

From Barron's

And he will want the poor judgements of his uncle confined to the royal archive alongside the other crises that have seriously damaged the public standing of the monarchy.

From BBC

Related Words

• annals