arch English · revision 10426

+ Arch, a curved structure, is from Old French arche, from Latin arcus; arch, chief or roguish, is the prefix arch- used as a word.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑɹt͡ʃ/; /ɑːt͡ʃ/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|curve}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=fro arche|origins=la arcus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English arche, [[bor|fro|arche|t=arch of a bridge, arcade]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Gallo-Romance *arca, a feminine form from the neuter plural of Latin arcus, a bow, arch (see [[arc]], [[arrow]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of arc.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A curved structure in a building or bridge: about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It largely replaced the native [[bow]] in this sense.^(Etymonline) Originally architectural, it was transferred by the early 15th century to anything curved, such as eyebrows or feet,^(Etymonline) and the OED records a curved form in general from about 1590 and the rainbow from 1610.^(OED 1989) An arched roof or vault, and figuratively the heavens, is from 1606.^(OED 1989) The arch of the foot is from 1858.^(OED 1989) The verb, to provide with an arch, is from about 1400, and to form an arch from the early 14th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The Court of Arches in London was held in the church of St Mary-le-Bow, named for the arches that supported its steeple.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a curved structure.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – to form an arch (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * early 15th century – any curve.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610 – the rainbow.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1858 – the arch of the foot.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A curved structure spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A monument or gateway in the form of an arch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A curved shape or structure, especially of the foot.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To form or bend into an arch.^(AHD)

+ # To provide with an arch, or to span.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[archway]]

+ * [[arched]]

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+ {{homograph|2|chief, roguish}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1547|origins=en arch-}}

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the prefix [[arch-]] used as a separate word,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a prefix attested from late Old English in words such as [[archangel]] and [[archbishop]],^(Etymonline) from Greek arkhi-, chief.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Chief, principal, as in ''arch rebel'': 1547, the 1540s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The prefix figured in so many derogatory uses, such as arch-rogue and arch-knave, that by the mid-17th century the word had come to mean roguish, mischievous, first recorded in 1662,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) softened by the 19th century to saucy.^(Etymonline) The shift shows in Middle English archwife, defined both as a wife of a superior order and as a domineering woman.^(Etymonline) ''Archly'' and ''archness'' are derivatives.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1547 – chief.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1662 – mischievous.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 19th century – saucy.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Playfully mischievous or teasing; [[roguish]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(rare)'' Chief or principal.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[archly]]

+ * [[archness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arc]]

+ * [[arcade]]

+ * [[archer]]

+ * [[arch-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}