archive

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂er-der.?
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ergʰ-der.?
3. Ancient Greekἄρχω (árkhō)
4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ)
5. Ancient Greek*ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos)
6. Ancient Greekἀρχεῖον (arkheîon)
7. Latinarchīvum
8. Frencharchives
9. Frencharchive
10. English todayarchive

The noun is borrowed from French archive, archif, from Late Latin archīvum, archīum (“archive; room containing an archive; public record office”), from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon, “office of a magistrate; public building or office; town hall; (in the plural) archives; public records”), a noun use of the neuter form of *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos, “relating to an office”), from ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ, “beginning, origin; authority, sovereignty”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to govern, rule”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit; to fix; to put together”), or *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin; to command; to rule”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.

Words from the same roots