edifice

[ed-uh-fis]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR edifice ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a building, especially one of large size or imposing appearance.

any large, complex system or organization.

Origin of edifice

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin aedificium, equivalent to aedific(āre) to build (see edify) + -ium -ium

Related formsed·i·fi·cial

[ed-uh-fish-uh l] /ˌɛd əˈfɪʃ əl/, adjectiveun·ed·i·fi·cial, adjective

Synonym study

1. See building.

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

Related Words for edifice

skyscraper, monument, building, house, construction, pile, habitation, erection

Examples from the Web for edifice

Contemporary Examples of edifice

A stage was erected next to the edifice and hundreds would gather to watch floggings, crying out “Allahu Akbar!”
Who Is Fazlullah? The Pakistani Mullah Who Targeted Malala
Michael Daly
November 9, 2013

Historical Examples of edifice

A gush of smoke came from a chimney in the rear of the edifice.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
When we wriggles he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
No, the truth is absolute, not a stone of the edifice shall be changed.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
It would be the old question of revolt against the edifice men have built.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
I have laid the foundations deep, that the edifice might endure.
Davenport Dunn, Volume 2 (of 2)
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for edifice

edifice

noun

a building, esp a large or imposing one

a complex or elaborate institution or organization

Derived Formsedificial (ˌɛdɪˈfɪʃəl), adjective

Word Origin for edifice

C14: from Old French, from Latin aedificium, from aedificāre to build; see edify

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 edifice

late 14c., from Old French edifice "building," from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth" + the root of facere "to make" (see factitious).

Ædis is from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (cf. Greek aithein "to burn," Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames," Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal," Old High German eit "funeral pile"), from root *ai- "to burn."