edifice English · revision 849

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛd.ɪ.fɪs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|edifice]], [[bor|fro|edifice|t=building]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|aedificium|t=building]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''aedificāre'' “to build”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''aedis'' “temple; dwelling”, originally “hearth”, and the combining form of ''facere'' “to make”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[edify]].^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A building, usually a large and stately one such as a church, palace or fortress (c. 1386 in the OED; about 1380 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Latin ''aedēs'' meant a temple, and in the plural a dwelling, originally “a place with a hearth”, from a root meaning “to burn”.^(Etymonline) English also used ''edifice'' for the act of building and for architectural style (1580), senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, an elaborate structure of ideas or a large organization, is recorded from 1711.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – a building.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580 – style of building (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – figuratively, a complex structure.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A building, especially a large or imposing one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An elaborate conceptual structure or large complex organization, as in ''the edifice of social order''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[edification]]

+ * [[edificatory]]

+ * [[edify]]

+ * [[building]]

+ * [[fact]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}