Other forms: arches
An arch is a curved opening that carries weight over a gap. A stone arch, the arch of a bridge, under the arch.
It works by turning downward load into sideways push, so every arch needs something solid at each end to push against — which is why they fail outwards, not down. The Romans built with round ones and the Gothic builders found that a pointed arch carries further. Note the arch of the foot.
1nounarchA curved opening that carries weight over a gap.
“The old stone bridge crosses the river on a single arch.”
arch is a structure.
Old French arche comes from Latin arcus, a bow or arc. Arc and archer come from the same bow.
Middle English
arch
English, today
arch
From Middle English arch. From Middle English arch, arche, from Old French arche (“an arch”), a feminine form of arc, from Latin arcus (“a bow, arc, arch”). a doublet of arc and arco. Displaced native bīeġels and hwealf.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA