- chief; principal; of highest rank
- eminent above all others of the same kind; extreme
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
arch-, archi- combining form
arch1 /ɑrtʃ/USA pronunciation n. [countable]
v.
arch2 /ɑrtʃ/USA pronunciation adj.
arch•ness, n. [uncountable]
-arch-, root.
arch., an abbreviation of:
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Architecturea curved construction over an opening.
- Architecturea doorway, gateway, or opening having a curved head;
archway. - anything bowed or curved like an arch:the arch of the foot.
v.
- to form (into) an arch: [no object]The elms arched over the road.[~ + object]The cat arched its back as a warning.
arch2 /ɑrtʃ/USA pronunciation adj.
- crafty;
sly;
mischievous or cunning:an arch little grin. - chief;
main:They were arch foes.
arch•ness, n. [uncountable]
-arch-, root.
- -arch- comes from Greek, where it has the meaning "chief;
leader;
ruler.'' This meaning is found in such words as: anarchy, archbishop, archdiocese, hierarchy, matriarch, monarch, monarchy, patriarch. - -arch- is also used to form nouns that refer to persons who are the most important, most notable, or the most extreme examples of (the following noun): archenemy (= the most important enemy);
archconservative (= the most extreme example of a conservative). - -arch- also appears with the meaning "first, earliest, original, oldest in time.'' This meaning is found in such words as: archaeology, archaic, archaism, archetype.
arch., an abbreviation of:
- archaic.
- Architecturearchitect.
- Architecturearchitecture.
archi-,
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a combining form with the general sense "first, principal,'' that is prefixed to nouns denoting things that are earliest, most basic, or bottommost (archiblast;
archiphoneme;
architrave);
or denoting individuals who direct or have authority over others of their class, usually named by the base noun (archimandrite;
architect). - Greek, combining form akin to arché̄ beginning, árchos leader, árchein to be the first, command
arch1
(ärch),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
v.i.
arch2 (ärch),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
arch-1 :
arch-2 :
-arch,
Arch.,
arch.,
- Architecture
- Architecturea curved masonry construction for spanning an opening, consisting of a number of wedgelike stones, bricks, or the like, set with the narrower side toward the opening in such a way that forces on the arch are transmitted as vertical or oblique stresses on either side of the opening.
- Architecturean upwardly curved construction, as of steel or timber functioning in the manner of a masonry arch.
- Architecturea doorway, gateway, etc., having a curved head;
an archway. - Architecturethe curved head of an opening, as a doorway.
- any overhead curvature resembling an arch.
- something bowed or curved;
any bowlike part:the arch of the foot. - Clothinga device inserted in or built into shoes for supporting the arch of the foot.
- Civil Engineeringa dam construction having the form of a barrel vault running vertically with its convex face toward the impounded water.
- Ceramics[Glassmaking.]
- a chamber or opening in a glassmaking furnace.
- See pot arch.
v.t.
- to cover with a vault, or span with an arch:the rude bridge that arched the flood.
- to throw or make into the shape of an arch or vault;
curve:The horse arched its neck.
v.i.
- to form an arch:elms arching over the road.
- Nautical, Naval Termshog (def. 16).
- Vulgar Latin *arca, feminine variant of Latin arcus arc
- Old French arche
- Middle English arch(e) 1250–1300
arch2 (ärch),USA pronunciation adj.
- playfully roguish or mischievous:an arch smile.
- cunning;
crafty;
sly.
n.
- [Obs.]a person who is preeminent;
a chief.
- independent use of arch-1
arch-1 :
- a combining form that represents the outcome of archi- in words borrowed through Latin from Greek in the Old English period;
it subsequently became a productive form added to nouns of any origin, which thus denote individuals or institutions directing or having authority over others of their class (archbishop;
archdiocese;
archpriest). More recently, arch- 1 has developed the senses "principal'' (archenemy;
archrival) or "prototypical'' and thus exemplary or extreme (archconservative);
nouns so formed are almost always pejorative.
- Greek. Cf. archangel
- Medieval Latin arci-, and Gothic ark- directly
- Greek (see archi-); but Dutch aarts-, Middle Low German erse-, Middle High German, German Erz-
- Latin archi-
- Old English arce-, ærce-, erce- (
Old Norse erki-) Middle English
arch-2 :
- var. of archi- before a vowel:archangel; archenteron.
-arch,
- a combining form meaning "chief, leader, ruler,'' used in the formation of compound words:monarch;matriarch;heresiarch.
- Greek -archos or -archēs, as comb. forms of árchos leader; compare archi-
Arch.,
- Archbishop.
arch.,
- archaic.
- archaism.
- Sportarchery.
- archipelago.
- Architecturearchitect.
- Architecturearchitectural.
- Architecturearchitecture.
- archive;
archives.
'arch-' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abutment
- alcove
- anticline
- apse
- arc
- Arc de Triomphe
- arcade
- arch
- archway
- arch.
- -arch
- archbishop
- archetype
- archi-
- -archy
- arrow
- baroreceptor
- bow
- buttress
- centring
- Decorated style
- eparch
- extrados
- eyebrow
- fallen arch
- flatfoot
- flying buttress
- Gothic
- hammertoe
- haunch
- headwork
- hog
- hump
- impost
- instep
- intrados
- invert
- Jones
- keystone
- lancet
- lancet arch
- lancet window
- loop
- matriarch
- monarch
- Moorish
- Nash
- Norman
- ogee
- accolade