arch- 1
pref.(前缀)
语源
arch- 2
pref.(前缀)
pref.(前缀)
- Chief; highest; most important:
 主要的;最高的;最重要的:
 archenemy.
 主要敌人
- Extreme or most characteristic of its kind:
 此类中最极端的或最有特征的:
 archconservative.
 极度保守的
语源
- Middle English arche- 
 中古英语 arche-
- from Old English ærce- 
 源自 古英语 ærce-
- and from Old French arche- 
 并源自 古法语 arche-
- both from Latin archi- 
 都源自 拉丁语 archi-
- from Greek arkhi- [archi-] 
 源自 希腊语 arkhi- [前缀,表“主要的”]
arch- 2
pref.(前缀)
- Variant of archi- 
 archi-的变体
arch- or archi-
combining form
chief; principal; of highest rank
⇒ 
archangel
⇒ 
archbishop
⇒ 
archduke
eminent above all others of the same kind; extreme
⇒ 
archenemy
⇒ 
archfiend
⇒ 
archfool
Origin
ultimately from Greek arkhi-, from arkhein to rulearch-1
Word Origin
1 
a combining form that represents the outcome of archi- in words borrowed through Latin from Greek in the Old English period; it subsequently became a productive form added to nouns of any origin, which thus denote individuals or institutions directing or having authority over others of their class (archbishop; archdiocese; archpriest). More recently, arch-1, has developed the senses “principal” (archenemy; archrival) or “prototypical” and thus exemplary or extreme (archconservative); nouns so formed are almost always pejorative.
Origin
Middle English; Old English arce-, ærce-, erce- (> Old Norse erki-) < Latin archi- < Greek (see archi-); but Dutch aarts-, Middle Low German erse-, Middle High German, German Erz- < Medieval Latin arci-, and Gothic ark- directly < Greek. Cf. archangel
arch-2
1 
variant of archi- before a vowel:
archangel; archenteron.
Related Words
- archi-
- archaeo-
- archangel
- archbishop
- archconfraternity
- archconservative
arch-a prefix meaning 'first', 'chief', as in archbishop, arch-priest.
[Middle English arch-, Old English arce-, erce-, from Latin arch-, arche-, archi-, from Greek, combining forms of archos chief]arch-
prefix
archfiend
2. extreme : most fully embodying the qualities of the kind
archconservative
⇨ see archi-
| I | 
 ETYMOLOGY  Middle English arche-, arch-, from Old English & Anglo-French; Old English arce-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi-; Anglo-French arch-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi-, from Greek arch-, archi-, from archein to begin, rule; akin to Greek archē beginning, rule, archos ruler
1. chief : principalarchfiend
2. extreme : most fully embodying the qualities of the kind
archconservative
| II | 
⇨ see archi-
arch-
                combining form
     -          chief; principal表示“主要的”, “为首的”:
-       archbishop archdiocese. 
-          ■ pre-eminent of its kind; out-and-out表示“同类中杰出的”, “极端的”:
-       arch-enemy. 
词源
via Latin from Greek arkhi-, from arkhos 'chief'.
1693 Apol. ClergyScot. 20*Arch-Bedle to the Kirk. 
1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. ,The elector of Brandenbourg is *arch-chamberlain of the empire. 
1842 Alison Hist. Eur. XIII. lxxxix. §6. 185Talleyrand in his capacity of *arch-chancellor of the empire. 
1614 Selden Titles Hon. 243*Arch-Chaplains constituted, in those elder times in the Court for Ecclesiastical matters. 
1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp.,*Arch-Count, a title antiently given to the Earl of Flanders. 
1690 Lond. Gaz. mmdxxxiii/3The Elector of Bavaria, as *Arch⁓dapifer, rid in his Robes to the Kitchin. 
1661 Morgan Sph. Gentry iv. vi. 82The *archdapifirship with all the prerogatives thereof. 
1747 Carte Hist. Eng. I. 32The *Arch-Druid's mansion house. 
1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 2Presided over by an *arch-druid. 
1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer'sBk. Physic 338/1The *Archearle Fredericke. 
1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v. ,The *archeunuch was one of the principal officers in Constantinople. 
1664 Floddan Field viii. 72 Th' *archgunner on th' 'English part. 
1814 Sch. Good Living 26Cadmus, *archmagirist to the king of Sidon. 
a1634 Chapman Alphonsus Plays 1873 III. 206Augustus Duke of Saxon, *Arch Marshall to the Emperor. 
1678 Marvell Corr. 361Wks. 1875 II. 631One Mr. Welch is their *arch-minister. 
1683 Burnet tr. More's Utopia 76Another Magistrate..called..the *Arch-philarch. 
1847 Ld. LindsayChr. Art. I.Introd. 55The *archsatrap Satan. 
1622 Heylin Cosmogr. ii. (1682) 103The Office of Archidapifer, or *Arch-Sewer. 
1643 Prynne PowerParl. App. 156The king verily hath his great Master or *Arch-Steward. 
1661 Morgan Sph. Gentry iv. vi. 82The Count Palatine was created..*Arch Treasurer of the Empire. 
a1672 Wood Life (1848) 41By the favour of the Warden Sir N. Brent the *Arch-visitor. 
1726 J. Trapp Popery i. (T.)The highest titles would have been given to St. Petre, such as *arch-apostle.
1590 Barrow & Greenw. in Confer. 43Christ being..*Arch⁓cheif, high Bishop of Bishopps. 
1728 Morgan Algiers II. iv. 288,I bid this *Arch-Corsair a final Adieu. 
1849 Sir J. Stephen Eccl. Biog. (1850) I. 365Indolence, self-will, and selfishness..*archdæmons of the cloister. 
1816 Southey in Q.Rev. XVI. 230Grand Monarque, Emperor, or *Arch⁓emperor, if it liked him better. 
1835 Browning Paracelsus ii. 32The dupes of this Old *arch-genethliac. 
1567 Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 420Yee *Archgouerners of Christs Church. 
1553–87 Foxe A. & M. 88/2The magicians and *archmagicians. 
1579 Fulke Heskins'sParl. Title-p.,*Archpatriarches of the Popish Synagogue. 
1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 16This *archpontiff of the rights of men. 
1583 Stubbes Anat. Abuses 17At the command of their superintendent, or *arch⁓primate. 
1649 Bp. Hall CasesConsc. vii. (1654) 47The *Arch-publican Zacheus. 
1650 Don Bellianis 107 *Arch⁓ruler over so many territories. 
1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. 361The Noble Reformer, in the character of *Arch-Sacrificator. 
1656 Trapp Comm. Matt. ii. 6Christ is the *arch-Shepherd, that feeds his people daily. 
1859 Helps Friends in C.Ser. ii. I. i. 23The *arch-vestryman, who objects to every thing proposed by everybody. 
1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Superb. Flag.Wks. i. 28/1Then did the *Archworkmaster of this All Create this Massie Vniversall Ball. 
1840 Gen. P. ThompsonExerc. (1842) V. 158Thanking the *‘Arch-Agitator’ . [ O'Connell] 
1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. v. iii. 12Proued by our *arch-Antiquary in his famous work. 
1640 Sanderson 21Serm. Ad. Aul. xii. (1673) 176The great *Arch-architect, the builder and maker of all things. 
1579 J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf B vij b,That Romish *archbaalam. 
a1635 Corbet To Ghost R. Wisdome (T.)*Archbotcher of a psalm or prayer. 
1685 Evelyn Diary (1827) III. 164The *arch-boutefeu Ferguson, Matthews, were not yet found. 
1577 Holinshed Chron. II. 26/2The *archbrochers of their brethrens bloud. 
c1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vii. 441The very blessed Apostle..giveth unto himself the title of an *arch⁓builder . [ 1 Cor. iii. 10] 
1853 Trench Proverbs 141Men fancy they can cheat the *arch-cheater. 
1548 Hall Chron. Hen. IV an. 1 (1809) 24Hector Boece, the Scottish *Arche⁓chronocler. 
1859 Helps Friends in C.Ser. ii. I. 8Change is the *arch-consoler. 
1594 Merry Knack i. in Hazl. Dodsl. VI. 528When I came to the Exchange, I espied..An *arch⁓cosener. 
1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art v. 85Hair-raising fiction concerned with *arch-criminals, gunmen, and sinister foreigners. 
1626 tr. Boccalina 187 (T.)Promoted..to be the *archcritick of the sacred muses. 
1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 520A new crime of the *archdeceiver. 
1616 R. C. Times' Whis. v. 2111Drunkennesse hath got an *arch-defender. 
1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. 349Wealth thus devoured by the *arch-depredator. 
1649 S. Clark Lives Fathers (1654) 245Luther..called the Zinglians, *Archdevils. 
1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xii. 116The King of France then, is the *arch-disturber. 
1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia (1869) 39Thies wysefooles and verye *archedoltes. 
1612–5 Bp. HallContempl. iii. i. 61They accuse him for an *archexorcist, for the worst kinde of magician. 
1667 Milton P.L. iv. 179Which when th' arch-fellon saw, Due entrance he disdained. 
1866 Carlyle Remin. (1881) I. 132Robert Owen, the then incipient *arch-gomeril. 
1826 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 40The ‘Life of an *Arch-humbug.’ 
1685 Baxter Paraphr. Matt. xxvii. 6Thus *Arch-hypocrites make conscience of Ceremony, and make no conscience of Perjury. 
1761 Sterne Tr. Shandy (1802) IV. xx. 93As if the *arch-jockey of jockeys had got behind me. 
1866 Spectator 6 Jan., Calling you or your friend ‘an *arch⁓knave.’ 
1827 Hare Guesses i. (1873) 82Vice is the greatest of all Jacobins, the *arch-leveler. 
1905 W. James Let. 24 Aug. (1920) II. 232When you write your treatise against philosophy, you will be classed as the *arch-metaphysician. 
1930 R. Campbell Poems 18Your muse..*Arch-mistress of the slowly crawling theme. 
a1711 Ken Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 76A Legion led, With the *Arch-Murderer at Head. 
1856 R. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 231Following Dionysius, that *arch-mystagogue. 
1610 Healey St. Aug., City of God 254One old *arch-plaier plaid the Mimike. 
1625 tr. Camden'sHist. Eliz. iii. (1688) 344The *Arch-plotter..of this Treason. 
1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xiii. (1675) 250The Old Serpent himself, that *Arch-politician. 
1677 Gilpin Dæmonol. Sac. (1867) 169Arch-heretics have been *arch⁓pretenders to sanctity. 
a1910 W. James SomeProbl. Philos. (1911) ii. 35Plato, the *arch-rationalist, explained the details of nature by their participation in ‘ideas’. 
1873 J. Morley Rousseau I. ix. 309Voltaire was the *Arch-representative of all these elements. 
a1650 May Satyr. Puppy 46Some *Arch-Rogue..hath done her wrong. 
1920 D. H. Lawrence Let. 4 Jan. (1962) I. 606She is staying with an *arch-scandalmonger. 
1936 Mind XLV. 336 Their specific intellectual relationship to the *arch-sceptic himself . [ sc. Hume] 
1896 Westm. Gaz. 21 May 2/1There is no knowing how many gullible young women this *arch-scoundrel might not have married and fleeced. 
1674 Hickman Hist. Quinquart. (ed. 2) 38Forged by Faustus that *Arch-Semipelagian. 
1881 G. M. Hopkins Sermons & Dev.Wr. (1959) 199So that if the Devil is symbolised as a snake he must be an *archsnake and a dragon. 
1630 Wadsworth Sp. Pilgr. viii. 89,I was an *Arch-spye against their State. 
1916 Joyce Portr. Artist Young Man iii. 135Eve yielded to the wiles of the *arch tempter. 
1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 64As did that *Arch⁓turncoat of Spalata. 
1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) VII. lv. 2This *arch-tyrant..most detestable of the Cæsarean family. 
1656 tr. B. Valentine's Twelve Keyes 6That *arch⁓wench Venus. 
1877 E. Conder Bas. Faith iv. 189The materials with which Reason, the *arch-worker, toils to construct her fabric. 
1541 Coverdale Old Faith v.Wks. 1844 I. 29the *archfather of all murderers. [ Cain] 
1641 Milton Ch. Govt. ii. (1851) 106Him whom they fain to be the *archfounder of Prelaty, S. Peter. 
1846 Grote Greece (1869) I. 12Homer knows nothing of Uranus, in the sense of an *arch-God, anterior to Kronos. 
1835 Lytton Rienzi vii. vi. 334The *arch-messenger to smooth the way and prepare the welcome. 
1659 Gell Amendm. Bible 787Adam the *arch⁓plagiary, who hath brought us all into bondage. 
1602 Carew Cornwall (1723) 138 b,The top of the Cornish *Archbeacon Hainborough. 
c1630 Risdon Surv. Devon. §314Their order..was..utterly abolished in *Arch⁓christendom. 
1633 Fletcher Purple Isl. ii. xliv,That *arch⁓city of this government. 
1652 Benlowes Theoph. viii. x,*Archessence! Thou, self full! self infinite! Residing in approachlesse light. 
1654 Goddard in Burton's Diary (1828) I. 171A piece of that *archfire, that hath been in this your time. 
1873 M. Blind Strauss's Old Faith li. 208The two *arch-forms of organic life. 
1685 tr. Gracian's Courtier'sMan. 122The Heart of Alexander was an *Arch⁓heart, seeing a whole world lodged easily in a corner of it. 
1834 Bancroft Hist. U.S. VI. Index 497Decadence of the *arch-house. 
1871 Browning Pr. Hohenst. 1529That lie of lies, *arch-infamy. 
1861 Emerson Cond. Life i. 14Man is the *arch-machine. 
1844 Disraeli Coningsby I. ii. i. 155The *Arch-Mediocrity who presided, rather than ruled, over this Cabinet of Mediocrities. 
1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. i. 71O, 'tis the spight of hell, the Fiend's *Arch-mock. 
1826 E. Irving Babylon II. vi. 85Its *arch-mockery, and master-piece of wickedness. 
1866 Jrnl. Sacr.Lit. No. 19. 187Little less than an *arch⁓mystery. 
1848 Petrie tr. O.E. Chron. (1853) 79went to Rome after his *arch-pall. [ He] 
1630 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb. ) 38Sir Nicholas Bacon, An *arch-piece of Wit and Wisdom. 
1553–87 Foxe A. & M. 209/1*Archpillers of all papistrie. 
1586 Bright Melanch. xxxv. 193That *archpiller of faith and assurance in Christ Jesus our hope. 
1628 Earle Microcosm. liii. 115It may be an *Arch-practice of State. 
1613 R. Zouche Dove 25The *Arch-Sea rowling from th' unruly North. 
1612 Drayton Polyolb. xxiv. (1748) 360Next these *arch-sees of ours now London place doth take. 
1865 Morn. Star 16 Feb., The *arch see of Canterbury. 
1598 J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 55The Seede of all mischiefe, that *Arch⁓sinne usurie. 
1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. iii. vi. §33They had their *Arch-Synagogue at the North corner of the Old-Jury. 
1667 Milton P.L. iii. 609Th' *Arch-chimic Sun so farr from us remote. 
1761 Smollett Gil Blas iii. ix. I. 301The ladies of the stage are not only noble, but *arch-noble. 
1901 P. V. Mighels Crystal Sceptre xliii. 371The wild brutes,..crazy to beat me to a pulp, as their *arch-nemesis. 
1928 Daily Kennebec Jrnl. (Augusta, Maine) 28 July 5/1Big Bill Tilden called forth a burst of the furious tennis of his younger years today to defeat his arch nemesis. 
2005 D. Mansour From Abba to Zoom xiii. 470His arch-nemesis is the evil Lex Luthor, who diminishes Superman's power with Kryptonite. 
arch-
also archi-, word-forming element meaning "chief, principal; extreme, ultra; early, primitive," from Latinized form of Greek arkh-, arkhi- "first, chief, primeval," comb. form of arkhos "chief" (see archon).
ORIGIN: Latin  from Greek  arkhi-  etc., from arkhos  chief, or Old French  arche-  from Latin  arch- . Cf. archi- 
☞ arch
arch-
I.\|ärch, |ȧch, but |ärk or |ȧk in “archangel” and derivatives\  prefix 
Etymology: Middle English arche-, arch-, from Old English & Old French; Old English arce-, erce-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi-, from Greek arch-, archi-; Old French arch-, arche-, from Late Latin arch- & Latin archi- — more at archi- 
1. : chief : principal 
< archangel >
< archbishop >
< archdiocese >
< archduke >
< archpillar >
2. : preeminent : extreme : most fully embodying the qualities of his or its kind 
< archantiquary >
< archcapitalist >
< archfool >
< archinfamy >
< archphilosopher >
< archpuritan >
< archrogue >
3. : first in time 
< archfather >
: primitive
< archform >
II.
— see archi-
I.
1.
< archangel >
< archbishop >
< archdiocese >
< archduke >
< archpillar >
2.
< archantiquary >
< archcapitalist >
< archfool >
< archinfamy >
< archphilosopher >
< archpuritan >
< archrogue >
3.
< archfather >
: primitive
< archform >
II.
— see archi-
arch-
Prefix
- chief, highest, most extreme
Etymology
From Latin archi- (English archi-), from Ancient Greek ἀρχι- (arkhi-), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin, to lead, to rule, to govern”) (whence also English -arch), from Proto-Indo-European *arkhein (“to begin, rule, command”).
Derived terms
 English words prefixed with arch-