arch-
arch- repr. ult. Gr. arkh(i)- chief, comb. form f. base of arkhós chief, arkhḗ rule, as in arkhággelos archangel, arkhidiā́konos archdeacon, arkhiepískopos archbishop, whence L. archangelus, archidiāconus, archiepiscopus, OF. arc(h)angele, arc(h)ediacre, arc(h)evesque. In OE. at first tr. by hēah HIGH, as in hēahenġel, but later adopted from L. as ærċe-, arċe-, erċe-, as in ærċebisċop, etc. The OE. forms gave ME. erche-, arche-, the latter coinciding with OF. arche-. From such comps. the prefix was generalized, and freely used in the senses ‘chief’, ‘principal’, ‘pre-eminent’, ‘extreme’. Cf. ARCHI-.
arch-
arch- • comb. form chief; principal: archbishop. ∎ preeminent of its kind: archenemy. ∎ (in unfavorable senses) out-and-out: arch-scoundrel.
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Chief , chief / chēf/ • n. 1. a leader or ruler of a people or clan: the chief of the village. ∎ the person with the highest rank in an organization: the chi… myna(h) , myna(h) see MINA. Horology , horology •haji • algae • Angie •argy-bargy, Panaji •edgy, sedgy, solfeggi, veggie, wedgie •cagey, stagy •mangy, rangy •Fiji, gee-gee, squeegee •Murru… H , H, h [Generally called ‘AITCH’, and sometimes ‘haitch’ in IrE and AusE]. The 8th LETTER of the Roman ALPHABET as used for English. It derives from th… principal , prin·ci·pal / ˈprinsəpəl/ • adj. 1. first in order of importance; main: the country's principal cities. 2. (of money) denoting an original sum invest… Hemisphere , hemisphere •Gambia, Zambia •Arabia, labia, Swabia •Libya, Namibia, tibia •euphorbia •agoraphobia, claustrophobia, homophobia, hydrophobia, phobia, te…
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