Etymograph

English

architecture

Architecture is borrowed from French architecture, from Latin architectūra; compare architect, from Greek ἀρχιτέκτων.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarchitectūra1
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentarchitecture1
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588architecture1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English architecture
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Our ſoules, whoſe faculties can comprehend The wondrous Architecture…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarchitectūraWiktionary, English architecture
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentarchitectureWiktionary, English architecture
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588architectureWiktionary, English architecture. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Our ſoules, whoſe faculties can comprehend The wondrous Architecture…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- ‘to create, produce’

technical, technique, textile, pretext, polytechnic, tassie, technic, tela, technetium, 16 more

through Proto-Hellenic *téktōn

tectonics, 6 more

through Ancient Greek τέκτων ‘one who works with wood: carpenter, builder’

tectonic, 7 more

Today it means

noun The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “architecture”. 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 / Latin architectūra / architecture

Shirt and support for this word