Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A usually curved structure forming the upper edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway.
- noun A structure, such as a freestanding monument, shaped like an inverted U.
- noun A curve with the ends down and the middle up.
- noun Anatomy An organ or structure having a curved or bowlike appearance, especially either of two arched sections of the bony structure of the foot.
- intransitive verb To provide with an arch.
- intransitive verb To cause to form an arch or similar curve.
- intransitive verb To bend backward.
- intransitive verb To span.
- intransitive verb To form an arch or archlike curve.
- adjective Chief; principal.
- adjective Mischievous; roguish.
- adjective Teasing, ironic, or sardonic.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To cover with a vault, or span with an arch.
- To throw into the shape of an arch or vault; curve: as, the horse arches his neck.
- To form an arch or arches: as, the sky arches overhead.
- noun Chief; principal: a prefix much used in composition with words both of native and of foreign origin. See
arch . - Chief; principal; preëminent. See
arch- . - Cunning; sly; shrewd; waggish; mischievous for sport; roguish: now commonly used of facial expression: as, “so arch a leer,”
- noun A chief; a leader.
- noun A box or chest; in plural, archives.
- noun The ark of Noah.
- noun The ark of the covenant.
- noun 1. In geometry, any part of the circumference of a circle or other curve; an arc. See
arc - noun In architecture, a structure built of separate and inelastic blocks, assembled on a curved line in such a way as to retain their position when the structure is supported extraneously only at its two extremities.
- noun Any place covered with an arch or a vault like an arch: as, to pass through the arch of a bridge.
- noun Any curvature in the form of an arch: as, the arch of the aorta; the arch of an eyebrow, of the foot, of the heavens, etc.
- noun In mining, a portion of a lode left standing, either as being too poor for profitable working or because it is needed to support the adjacent rock.
- noun The roofing of the fire-chamber of a furnace, as a reverberatory or a glass-furnace; hence, sometimes, the fire-chamber itself.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To form into an arch; to curve.
- transitive verb To cover with an arch or arches.
- transitive verb To form or bend into the shape of an arch.
- noun obsolete A chief.
- noun (Geom.) Any part of a curved line.
- noun Usually a curved member made up of separate wedge-shaped solids, with the joints between them disposed in the direction of the radii of the curve; used to support the wall or other weight above an opening. In this sense arches are
segmental ,round (i. e., semicircular), orpointed . - noun A flat arch is a member constructed of stones cut into wedges or other shapes so as to support each other without rising in a curve.
- noun Any place covered by an arch; an archway.
- noun Any curvature in the form of an arch.
- noun a monumental structure resembling an arched gateway, with one or more passages, erected to commemorate a triumph.
- adjective Chief; eminent; greatest; principal.
- adjective Cunning or sly; sportively mischievous; roguish.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Knowing,
clever ,mischievous . - adjective
Principal ;primary . - noun An inverted U shape.
- noun An arch-shaped arrangement of trapezoidal stones, designed to redistribute downward force outward.
- noun architecture An architectural element having the shape of an arch
- noun archaic, geometry An
arc ; a part of acurve . - verb To form into an arch shape
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb form an arch or curve
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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MISCELLANEOUS WORDS. adobe _ado'ba_ algebra not _bra_ alien _alyen_, not _alien_ ameliorate _amelyorate_ antarctic _antarktik_ anti not _anti_ archangel _arkangel_ archbishop _arch_, not _ark_ arch fiend _arch_, not _ark_ architect _arkitect_ awkward _awkward_, not _ard_
Practical Grammar and Composition Thomas Wood
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Especially rich were the half-dome of the apse and the wall-space surrounding its arch and called the _triumphal arch_; next in decorative importance came the broad band of wall beneath the clearstory windows.
A Text-Book of the History of Architecture Seventh Edition, revised 1890
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The development of fan-vaulting had led to the adoption of a new form of arch, the four-centred or _Tudor arch_ (Fig. 133), to fit under the depressed apex of the vault.
A Text-Book of the History of Architecture Seventh Edition, revised 1890
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As late as the first half of the tenth century we meet with the term arch-acolyte in Luitprand of Cremona
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913
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The signification of the term arché, already used, was sufficiently comprehensive to include that of aitía, since all causes come necessarily under the head of principles.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913
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I particularly related to buying earrings on the street and to looking at how gorgeous the arch is at night.
Nostalgia. « 2008
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The base of the arch is a piece of hand-dyed fabric, with a large number of skeleton leaves attached with free motion quilting (mostly a meander with a few leaves and flowers thrown in).
Blue flowery arch katelnorth 2008
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I'm never too interested in monuments and touristy attractions, but I do think the arch is a very beautiful creation, rising sleekly into the sky at the bank of the Mississippi river, denoting the border between Missouri and Illinois.
Archive 2007-05-01 Nupur 2007
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I have big enough feet that I can fit into guys boots, but the arch is always in the wrong spot for me.
Girl-ified Gear 2007
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Sometimes interruption of the aortic arch is diagnosed on a fetal ultrasound and/or fetal echocardiogram.
selenography commented on the word arch
The secondary definition is especially interesting:
1. playfully roguish or mischievous: an arch smile.
2. cunning; crafty; sly.
January 28, 2007
uselessness commented on the word arch
Also, Professor Moriarty's way off the Holodeck.
January 28, 2007
slumry commented on the word arch
I like the sense of mischievous
July 12, 2007
john commented on the word arch
"He was also known for weaving together seemingly unrelated themes in an arch, self-deprecating way that helped break down the image of the critic as an all-knowing figure who wrote from atop a pedestal."
The New York Times, October 3, 2007, Herbert Muschamp Obit
October 4, 2007
billprice commented on the word arch
I've seen this form used as an intransitive verb meaning "to engage in archery; to shoot a bow", as a backformation from "archery".
October 27, 2010
bilby commented on the word arch
It's what a pirate exclaims when he drops a cannonball on his toe.
October 27, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word arch
That pirate should have been wearing protective arch supports.
October 27, 2010