arcade English · revision 39905

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1612, E. Grimeston|origins=la arcus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ɑːˈkeɪd/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ɑɹˈkeɪd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|arcade|t=arched opening; a construction of arches]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) from [[it|arcata|t=arch of a bridge]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966) or, according to the Shorter Oxford, the Oxford Dictionary of English and Hoad, from either the Italian word or [[pro|arcada]];^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster derives it from an assumed dialect form of northern Italy, [[it|*arcada]].^(MWU 2024) The Italian word comes from [[m|it|arco|t=arch, bow]], from [[la|arcus|t=bow, arch]],^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) with the suffix that gives English [[-ade]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Weekley takes it from Italian [[m|it|arcare|t=to bend]], and cites Florio's gloss "an arch of a bridge, a bending".^(Weekley 1921) In French the word is recorded for an arched opening from 1555, for arches resting on columns from 1562 and for an avenue arched over by trees from 1572.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A walkway covered by or lined with a series of arches on columns, or a garden path arched over by branches: 1612, in Edward Grimeston's translation of Pierre Matthieu's life of Henry IV of France, in the OED's revised entry.^(OED 2026) Barnhart and Etymonline give 1731, in Pope's ''Moral Essays'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster 1685.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From a vaulted space or a row of arches,^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) the word passed to any covered avenue, and especially to one lined with shops: a colonnade along a row of shops is recorded from 1770,^(OED 2026) and a covered passage of shops, often with a glass roof, became the main sense in the 19th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined the word as "a continued arch; a walk arched over", quoting Pope.^(Johnson 1755) In architecture an ''arcade'' is also a row of ornamental arches set against a wall, from 1760.^(OED 2026) The amusement arcade, a hall with coin-operated games, is recorded from 1898, in Scotland,^(OED 2026) and with the rise of video games ''arcade'' came to mean a place for them and, as an adjective, games of that kind.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1612 – a walkway lined with arches.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1633 – an arched opening or recess.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1685 – Merriam-Webster's first known use.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1731 – Barnhart's and Etymonline's first example, in Pope.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1736 – verb, to build with arcades.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1760 – a row of ornamental arches.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1770 – a covered passage lined with shops.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1898 – an amusement arcade.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A covered [[passage]] or walkway with [[shop|alt=shops]] on one or both sides, or (chiefly British) a building containing many shops: ''They spent the afternoon browsing in the arcade.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (architecture) A series of [[arch|alt=arches]] supported by [[column|alt=columns]] or [[pier|alt=piers]], either free-standing or set against a wall.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # An [[amusement arcade]]: a hall with coin-operated games and [[video game|alt=video games]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # An arched or covered walk or avenue, such as one formed by trees.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # (usually passive) To build or decorate with an arcade.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[arcaded]]

+ * [[arcading]]

+ * [[arcade game]]

+ * [[penny arcade]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arc]]

+ * [[arch]]

+ * [[arrow]]

+ * [[colonnade]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}