archly


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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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.archly - in_an_arch_manner; with playful slyness or roguishness
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

archly

[ɑːtʃlɪ] ADV
1. (= in a superior way) → con aire de superioridad
2. (= mischievously) → maliciosamente
3. (= cunningly) → con astucia
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

archly

[ˈɑːrtʃli] adv
(= mysteriously) [look] → d'un air malicieux
(= importantly) [say] → avec condescendance
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

archly

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

archly

[ˈɑːtʃli] adv (speak, smile) → maliziosamente
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
Carey," she said archly. "I can see it in your face."
At last, between little gushes of laughter which shook her plump shoulders in a way that aroused wistful memories of Hebe, she archly asked me, with mock solemnity, if I should need a lady's maid.
'Doesn't it rather suggest,' said Mrs Lammle archly, 'that my Georgiana's little heart is--'
Don't you know me?' she asked in a smooth, low voice, looking in at us archly.
which Mrs Durbeyfield had used to sing to her as a child, so blithely and so archly, her foot on the cradle, which she rocked to the tune.
He remembered the other pair of challenging blue ones that had darted coquettish glances through half-dropped lids, shot arrowy beams from under archly lifted brows, and said gravely, "Don't form yourself on her, Rebecca; clover blossoms that grow in the fields beside Sunnybrook mustn't be tied in the same bouquet with gaudy sunflowers; they are too sweet and fragrant and wholesome."
"His own, too?" inquired Charlotte, a little archly.
"In which case you would have prized it five-and-twenty times less," answered Clara, smiling archly.
"Let me see," said Mary, the corners of her mouth curling archly; "I must go back on my experience.
'That of course,' rejoined the young lady, smiling archly.
'Hush!' she whispered, bending forward and pointing archly to the window underneath.
Though you think it too soon to listen to the calls of humanity," he added, smiling archly, "I may be permitted to believe that gallantry is not forgotten by one so young as yourself.