Arches


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arch1
semicircular arch
A. keystone
B. voussoirs
C. springers
D. imposts

arch 1

 (ärch)
n.
1. A usually curved structure forming the upper edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway.
2. A structure, such as a freestanding monument, shaped like an inverted U.
3. A curve with the ends down and the middle up: the arch of a raised eyebrow.
4. Anatomy An organ or structure having a curved or bowlike appearance, especially either of two arched sections of the bony structure of the foot.
v. arched, arch·ing, arch·es
v.tr.
1. To provide with an arch: arch a passageway.
2. To cause to form an arch or similar curve.
3. To bend backward: The dancers alternately arched and hunched their backs.
4. To span: "the rude bridge that arched the flood" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
v.intr.
To form an arch or archlike curve: The high fly ball arched toward the stands.

[Middle English, from Old French arche, from Vulgar Latin *arca, from Latin arcus.]

arch 2

 (ärch)
adj.
1. Chief; principal: their arch foe.
2.
a. Mischievous; roguish: "She ... was arch enough to inform the queen whenever I committed any folly that she thought would be diverting to her majesty" (Jonathan Swift).
b. Teasing, ironic, or sardonic: "I know, Edy Boardman said none too amiably with an arch glance from her shortsighted eyes. I know who is Tommy's sweetheart" (James Joyce).

[From arch-.]

arch′ly adv.
arch′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Arches

(ˈɑːtʃɪz)
pl n
(Anglicanism) Court of Arches Church of England the court of appeal of the Province of Canterbury, formerly held under the arches of Bow Church
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
References in classic literature ?
And who put the cold, white panes in the place of those windows," high in color, "which caused the astonished eyes of our fathers to hesitate between the rose of the grand portal and the arches of the apse?
The Saxon architect completed the erection of the first pillars of the nave, when the pointed arch, which dates from the Crusade, arrived and placed itself as a conqueror upon the large Romanesque capitals which should support only round arches. The pointed arch, mistress since that time, constructed the rest of the church.
The arches to be upon pillars of carpenter's work, of some ten foot high, and six foot broad; and the spaces between of the same dimension with the breadth of the arch.
Two yards from the door, at the head of this stair, is an opening nearly east, accessible by treading on the ledge of the wall, which diminishes eight inches each story ; and this last opening leads into a room or chapel ten feet by twelve, and fifteen or sixteen high, arched with free-stone, and supported by small circular columns of the same, the capitals and arches Saxon.
And yet its arches, its columns, and its statues proclaim it to have been built by an enlightened race.
DOWN in the deep blue sea lived Ripple, a happy little Water-Spirit; all day long she danced beneath the coral arches, made garlands of bright ocean flowers, or floated on the great waves that sparkled in the sunlight; but the pastime that she loved best was lying in the many-colored shells upon the shore, listening to the low, murmuring music the waves had taught them long ago; and here for hours the little Spirit lay watching the sea and sky, while singing gayly to herself.
Through the red mist that floated all around her, she could see high walls of changing light, where orange, blue, and violet flames went flickering to and fro, making graceful figures as they danced and glowed; and underneath these rainbow arches, little Spirits glided, far and near, wearing crowns of fire, beneath which flashed their wild, bright eyes; and as they spoke, sparks dropped quickly from their lips, and Ripple saw with wonder, through their garments of transparent light, that in each Fairy's breast there burned a steady flame, that never wavered or went out.
The ceilings were composed of great arches that rose far above her head, and all the walls and floors were of polished marble exquisitely tinted in many colors.
Alice thought she had never seen such a curious croquet-ground in her life; it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches.
`but it doesn't matter much,' thought Alice, `as all the arches are gone from this side of the ground.' So she tucked it away under her arm, that it might not escape again, and went back for a little more conversation with her friend.
The arches were of white marble, apparently quarried in single, huge blocks from which each arch was cut complete.
The arch width shows rapid increase, more specifically during the mixed dentition stage however these changes are below 1 mm in permanent dentition stage.4 Therefore, the permanent dental arches were appropriately chosen for our study.