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 archives, a place where public records or other historical documents are kept.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

From the archives: Cars were once a financial engine of America’s middle class.

From MarketWatch

From the archives: Cars were once a financial engine of America’s middle class.

From MarketWatch

It can summarize the highlights of a user's day, draft and send emails, or even select photos from archives to post on social media.

From Barron's

The basement at St Mark's The National Bowel Hospital has a unique collection of tens of thousands of archived cancer samples.

From BBC

Researchers used high-throughput genetic sequencing to analyze archived tissue samples taken from deceased whales.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• annals