arching


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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:
Adj.1.arching - forming or resembling an archarching - forming or resembling an arch; "an arched ceiling"
arced, arciform, arcuate, bowed, arched
architecture - the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings; "architecture and eloquence are mixed arts whose end is sometimes beauty and sometimes use"
curved, curving - having or marked by a curve or smoothly rounded bend; "the curved tusks of a walrus"; "his curved lips suggested a smile but his eyes were hard"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

arching

n. arqueamiento.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
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References in classic literature ?
And for fine devices, of arching water without spilling, and making it rise in several forms (of feathers, drinking glasses, canopies, and the like), they be pretty things to look on, but nothing to health and sweetness.
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Determination of the forming conditions and arching characteristics of the pressure arch in the mining field and analysing the nonuniform weighting mechanism on the working face during shallow coal mining with thick bedrock are the urgent problems to be solved.
Based on the strata behaviours of a typical working face in Shangwan mine in Shendong mining area in China, the mechanical model of the pressure arch in the surrounding rock was constructed and the identification indicators of the arching parameters were proposed in this paper.
Mechanical Performances of Pressure Arch in Thick Bedrock during Shallow Coal Mining

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