Archival

How to spell archival

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce archival

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does archival mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to archives, or made to a standard suitable for long-term preservation of documents and materials.

Archival in a sentence

• The museum stores the rare letters in archival folders to prevent fading.

• Researchers requested access to the archival records held in the basement vault.

Where does archival come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word descends from the Greek arkheia, meaning the public records or official government documents, which itself grew from arkhe, a noun meaning 'beginning', 'origin', and by extension 'rule' or 'authority'. The same arkhe lies behind the English suffix -archy in words like monarchy, since those who ruled also kept the records. Latin took the Greek term as archivum, the place where public records were stored, and French passed it into English as 'archive' around the early 1600s. The adjective 'archival', meaning 'relating to archives' or 'suitable for long-term preservation', was assembled later in English by adding the ordinary -al ending. The spelling keeps the 'ch' that sounds like a hard 'k', a tell-tale sign of its Greek roots, which is the main thing to remember when writing it.

How the word is built

• archiv- (from Greek arkheia: public records, government documents)
• -al (adjective suffix)