Etymograph

English

arch

Arch comes from Old French arche ‘an arch’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷ-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkuos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcus1‘a bow, arc, arch’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400arc1
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400arche1‘an arch’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arch1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2024arch1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English arch
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Philip Haigh, Comment: Who will run our railways?: “GBR will either be letting operating contracts or running…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷ-Wiktionary, English archreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷosWiktionary, English archreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkuosWiktionary, English archreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcusWiktionary, English arch‘a bow, arc, arch’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400arcWiktionary, English arch
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400archeWiktionary, English arch‘an arch’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500archWiktionary, English arch
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2024archWiktionary, English arch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Philip Haigh, Comment: Who will run our railways?: “GBR will either be letting operating contracts or running…”

Linked words

through Latin arcus ‘a bow, arc, arch’

arcade, arson, arco, arcuate, 12 more

through Old French arc

arc, 2 more

Another origin of arch

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ergʰ-uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄρχωárkhō‘to be ruler’
  3. Englishtodayarch

"Principal" is the original sense; "mischievous" is via onetime frequent collocation with rogue, knave, etc.

Another origin of arch

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tetḱ-‘to create, produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tétḱō‘carpenter’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*téktōnreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέκτωνtéktōn‘one who works with wood: carpenter, builder’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀρχιτέκτωνarkhitéktōn‘chief constructor, master builder, architect’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarchitectus‘architect, master builder’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarchitectūra‘architecture’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentarchitecture
  9. English1500–presentarchitecture
  10. Englishtodayarch

Today it means

noun An inverted U shape.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “arch”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷ- / arch

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