Arch

How to spell arch

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce arch

What does arch mean?

1. nounA curved structure that spans an opening and supports the weight above it.
2. verbTo bend or curve something into a rounded shape.
3. adjectivePlayfully sly or knowingly mischievous in manner.

Arch in a sentence

• noun

  The stone arch above the doorway has stood for centuries.

• verb

  The cat will arch its back when it feels threatened.

• adjective

  He gave an arch smile that hinted he knew the secret.

• noun

  Engineers inspected the railway arch for cracks.

• verb

  She watched the dancer arch her spine gracefully.

• adjective

  Her arch remark made the whole table laugh.

Where does arch come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin arcus, which meant a bow (the weapon), a curve, or an arch, and by extension anything bent into that shape. It travelled into English through Old French arche during the 1200s, naming the curved span of stone that carries weight in a doorway or bridge. From the architectural noun grew a verb meaning to bend something into that same rounded shape, as when a cat arches its back. The adjective sense, meaning playfully sly or knowingly mischievous, has a separate but related route: it began as the prefix arch-, from Greek arkhos meaning chief or ruler (as in archbishop), where the idea of a 'chief rogue' softened over time into something merely roguish and teasing. The plain four-letter spelling is rarely a trap; the curiosity is that one short word holds a curve, a bend, and a cheeky smile.

How the word is built

• arch (from Latin arcus: bow, curve)