-arch


-arch

suff. Ruler; leader: matriarch.
[Middle English -arche, from Old French, from Late Latin -archa, from Latin -archēs, from Greek -arkhēs, from arkhos, ruler, from arkhein, to rule.]

-arch

n combining form leader; ruler; chief: patriarch; monarch; heresiarch. [from Greek -arkhēs, from arkhein to rule; compare arch-]

arch1

(ɑrtʃ)

n. 1. a curved construction spanning an opening and usu. supporting weight from above or the sides. 2. a doorway or gateway having a curved head; archway. 3. any overhead curvature resembling an arch. 4. something bowed or curved: the arch of the foot. v.t. 5. to cover or span with an arch. 6. to form into an arch: a cat arching its back. v.i. 7. to form an arch: elms arching over the road. [1250–1300; < Old French arche < Vulgar Latin *arca, feminine variant of Latin arcus arc]

arch2

(ɑrtʃ)
adj. 1. coyly roguish or ironic. 2. crafty; sly. [1545–55; independent use of arch-1]arch′ly, adv. arch′ness, n.

arch-1

, a combining form used to create nouns that denote individuals or institutions directing or having authority over others of their class (archbishop; archdiocese; archpriest); also meaning “principal” (archenemy; archrival) or “prototypical” and thus exemplary or extreme (archconservative). [Old English arce-, < Latin archi- < Greek; see archi-]

arch-2

, var. of archi- before a vowel: archangel.

-arch

a combining form meaning “chief, leader, ruler”: matriarch; monarch. [< Greek -archos or -archēs, as comb. forms of árchos leader]

Arch.

Archbishop.

arch.

1. archaic. 2. archery. 3. archipelago. 4. architect; architecture.