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What is "arch"

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arch
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
arch
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an arch enemy (=main enemy, used for emphasis)
▪ The comic book character Lex Luthor is Superman’s arch enemy.
proscenium arch (=the arch over the stage where the curtain can be attached)
▪ the proscenium arch
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
gothic
▪ On either side of the large doors is a gallery of Gothic arches facing west.
▪ Neville's eyebrows soared into a Gothic arch.
▪ This, in turn became a basic geometry for the pointed gothic arch.
▪ Once a Doge's palace, ornate stairways, gothic arches and balustrades remain.
triumphal
▪ It was built as a triumphal arch for King Matthias in 1614.
▪ Entering the village was like passing under an invisible triumphal arch, quite splendid.
▪ You will note that the triumphal arch meets the traveller straight off the Charles Bridge.
▪ The last element to be added was the magnificent triumphal arch at the entrance from the Piazza del Duomo.
▪ Apart from the interior triumphal arch, which is pointed, the other arches are semi-circular.
▪ Other Roman remains include the public baths and triumphal arch of Augustus.
■ NOUN
stone
▪ More thick dry stone arches connect the two ruins and lead the eye into a singular landscape.
▪ A neat stone arch and a flight of steps were built at the entrance and these have survived.
▪ She ran through the stone arch.
▪ Half way down was a stone arch over the tunnel entrance.
▪ The interior walls are also of plain brick with stone arches and columns and particularly fine late Gothic traceried windows.
■ VERB
build
▪ A path has now been built under the arch of the bridge at the east end of Glasgow Green.
▪ It was built as a triumphal arch for King Matthias in 1614.
▪ The bridge was built on nineteen great arches.
▪ It's quite easy to build the arch, however, if you are allowed to subtract stones as well as add them.
▪ Start by building a solid heap of stones, then build the arch resting on top of this solid foundation.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
lancet window/arch
▪ At the west end is a beautiful pointed window, and at the east end three lancet windows.
▪ He whiled away the time by contemplating the stained glass lancet windows behind the preacher and the holy table.
▪ Plasteel mullions divided the narrow, high lancet windows of stained armour-glass.
▪ The courtyard was overlooked by the lancet windows of the manorial home itself, and a large chapel.
▪ The fact that this contains three lancet windows shows that this was once a building.
▪ There was a patch of light from the lancet window making a pattern on the floor of the chapel.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Graffiti covered the arch at the base of Fifth Avenue.
▪ It also has a horseshoe arch entrance to the sanctuary, but its decoration is poorer than that at S. Juan.
▪ It was built as a triumphal arch for King Matthias in 1614.
▪ More thick dry stone arches connect the two ruins and lead the eye into a singular landscape.
▪ Repeat for the other side of the arch.
▪ Sculptures of angels dance among the soaring arches that form the ceiling of the mission.
▪ The arch is a beacon for folks heading West.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
back
▪ In full stride in the 400 meters, his head is arched back, his step shorter than the classic sprinter.
▪ He arched back stiffly in the chair.
▪ Feet braced, back arched, she put both hands on the machine, trying to wrest it back.
▪ His hands were on her smooth, arched back, sliding down the curve.
▪ The weight and angle of him; the true-to-life beard hair on him; arched back, educated hands.
■ NOUN
body
▪ Your body is arching, your pelvis is thrown forward. 12.07 am.
▪ I felt my body arching to meet his in a way that was familiar but new in its violence.
▪ Jezrael's body arched languorously; her dream-self believed she was nestling closer to the Magyar.
▪ I felt my body begin arching in a way it never had before.
▪ His body arched as jagged nails scored bloody tracks down his back.
▪ My body was arching and bucking uncontrollably beneath him.
▪ His body was arched as though he had been forced to retreat.
eyebrow
▪ The two silent students looked at each other, eyebrows arching.
▪ Her forehead was high, her eyebrows delicately arched.
▪ His cheeks sucked in and his eyebrows arched as if he were angry.
▪ As she read, her eyebrows arched.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ The dog arched its back and showed its teeth.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Rachel daintily arched one eyebrow as if I had mentioned inviting her servants to some feast or revelry.
▪ Strings of spittle hanging from pointed teeth to lower lip reflected moonshine as the cadaverous head arched skywards.
▪ The bar extends along the left wall with a stuffed marlin arched above it that I suspect was never really alive.
▪ The private swans arch out their feathers and preen and nourish themselves.
▪ They arch out to a five-foot width, then narrow quickly toward the bow and stern.
▪ Thick white branches arch as far out as the tree is tall, sometimes at seemingly impossible angles.
III.adjective
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ an arch tone
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ He was right, in the arch sense that he meant it, as a means of chiding overanxious environmentalists.
▪ His soulless eyes are narrowed and sullen, and his arch goatee recalls an amoral Transylvanian count.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Arch

Arch \Arch\ ([aum]rch), n. [F. arche, fr. LL. arca, for arcus. See Arc.]

  1. (Geom.) Any part of a curved line.

  2. (Arch.)

    1. 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), or pointed.

    2. 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.

      Note: Scientifically considered, the arch is a means of spanning an opening by resolving vertical pressure into horizontal or diagonal thrust.

  3. Any place covered by an arch; an archway; as, to pass into the arch of a bridge.

  4. Any curvature in the form of an arch; as, the arch of the aorta. ``Colors of the showery arch.''
    --Milton.

    Triumphal arch, a monumental structure resembling an arched gateway, with one or more passages, erected to commemorate a triumph.

Arch

Arch \Arch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arched ([aum]rcht); p. pr. & vb. n. Arching.]

  1. To cover with an arch or arches.

  2. To form or bend into the shape of an arch.

    The horse arched his neck.
    --Charlesworth.

Arch

Arch \Arch\, v. i. To form into an arch; to curve.

Arch

Arch \Arch\ (["a]rch), a. [See Arch-, pref.]

  1. Chief; eminent; greatest; principal.

    The most arch act of piteous massacre.
    --Shak.

  2. Cunning or sly; sportively mischievous; roguish; as, an arch look, word, lad.

    [He] spoke his request with so arch a leer.
    --Tatler.

Arch

Arch \Arch\, n. [See Arch-, pref.] A chief. [Obs.]

My worthy arch and patron comes to-night.
--Shak.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
arch

c.1300, from Old French arche "arch of a bridge" (12c.), from Latin arcus "a bow" (see arc). Replaced native bow (n.1). Originally architectural in English; transferred by early 15c. to anything having this form (eyebrows, etc.).

arch

1540s, "chief, principal," from prefix arch-; used in 12c. archangel, etc., but extended to so many derogatory uses (arch-rogue, arch-knave, etc.) that by mid-17c. it acquired a meaning of "roguish, mischievous," since softened to "saucy." Also found in archwife (late 14c.), variously defined as "a wife of a superior order" or "a dominating woman, virago."

arch

early 14c., "to form an arch" (implied in arched); c.1400, "to furnish with an arch," from arch (n.). Related: Arching.

Wiktionary
arch

Etymology 1 n. 1 (senseid en inverted U shape)An inverted U shape. 2 An arch-shaped arrangement of trapezoidal stones, designed to redistribute downward force outward. 3 (senseid en architectural element)(context architecture English) An architectural element having the shape of an arch 4 Any place covered by an arch; an archway. 5 (context archaic geometry English) An arc; a part of a curve. vb. 1 To form into an arch shape 2 To cover with an arch or arches. Etymology 2

  1. 1 (senseid en knowing) Knowing, clever, mischievous. 2 principal; primary. n. (context obsolete English) A chief.

Related phrases:
WordNet
arch

  1. adj. (of persons) highest in rank or authority or office; "his arch rival" [syn: arch(a)]

  2. (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension [syn: condescending, patronizing, patronising]

  3. expert in skulduggery; "an arch criminal" [syn: arch(a)]

arch

  1. n. a curved shape in the vertical plane that spans an opening

  2. a curved bony structure supporting or enclosing organs (especially arches of the feet)

  3. a passageway under an arch [syn: archway]

  4. (architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it

arch

v. form an arch or curve; "her back arches"; "her hips curve nicely" [syn: curve, arc]

Related phrases:
Gazetteer
Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Arch

An arch is a curved structure that spans a space and may or may not support weight above it. Arch may be synonymous with vault, but a vault may be distinguished as a continuous arch forming a roof. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture, and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.

Arch (disambiguation)

An arch is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight.

Arch, The Arch or Arches may also refer to:

Arch (horse)

Arch (1995 – January 20, 2016) was a Kentucky-bred race horse and sire. He was the son of Kris S. and Aurora by Danzig, won the Grade 1 Super Derby and sired many notable stakes winners.

Arch (sculpture)

Arch is a public art work by artist Ernest Carl Shaw located at the Lynden Sculpture Garden near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The sculpture is an abstract form made of four steel bars arranged in a trapezoid; it is rust-colored and installed on the lawn.

Arch (name)

Arch is a masculine given name and a surname which may refer to:

  • Arch Knott (1916–1998), Australian rules footballer
  • Arch McDonald (1901-1960), American radio broadcaster, longtime voice of Major League Baseball's Washington Senators
  • Arch A. Moore, Jr. (1923–2015), American lawyer, politician and convicted felon
  • Arch Oboler (1909–1987), American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer and director
  • Arch Ward (1896–1955), sports editor for the Chicago Tribune newspaper
  • E. L. Arch, a pen name of American novelist Rachel Cosgrove Payes (1922-1998)
  • Hannes Arch (born 1967), Austrian air racer and 2008 world champion
  • John Arch (born 1959), American progressive metal singer born John Maurice Archambault
  • Joseph Arch (1826–1919), English politician
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "arch".

Her thoughts are like the lotus Abloom by sacred streams Beneath the temple arches Where Quiet sits and dreams.

This illustration is not intended to apply to the older bridges with widely distended masses, which render each pier sufficient to abut the arches springing from it, but tend, in providing for a way over the river, to choke up the way by the river itself, or to compel the river either to throw down the structure or else to destroy its own banks.

The tented arch is formed by the angle made when the curving ridge above the dot abuts upon the ridge immediately under and to the left of the dot.

When figure 188 is examined, it will be noticed that the recurve is spoiled by the appendage abutting upon it between the shoulders at a right angle, so it must also be classified with the tented arches.

The abutments also must be strong enough to take safely the thrust of the weighted arch, as the slightest movement in these supports will cause deflection and failure.

On the other hand, a girder imposes only a vertical load on its piers and abutments, and not a horizontal thrust, as in the case of an arch or suspension chain.

There was not an archer in Achar who could better them now, Belial mused, as he watched them practice hitting moving targets while at the gallop.

Conversely, the hetmans of the mountain tribes and the landowners of the region who wish to ship their wool and corn to the southern towns bring them to take boat at Thrax, below the cataract that roars through the arched spillway of Acies Castle.

Through an arched opening, she could see a cobbled area that flickered with torchlight, contrasting sharply with the bright, actinic glare of floodlamps.

Archer thought as he glanced aftward, where Malcolm stood by watching.

Others supposed that it would now assume a worse form, in consequence of the absence of those restraints which the superior sagacity of the arch agitator laid upon the more fiery and imprudent ringleaders.

Broken stone and iron gashed her bare feet as she plunged into the black arch of the gate, but the pain was swallowed in icy fear as thin, aimless winds tugged at heras she sensed, rather than saw, something move in the utter blackness over her head.

Between the groups of aisle windows are blind arches narrower than the windows themselves.

The aisle fronts have upper storeys ornamented with blind arches and an upper row of small lancet windows.

This was effected in the following manner:--The pier in the middle of the new aisle was removed, together with the whole of the narrow arch which it supported on the one side and the wider arch which it supported on the other.