archival

ar·chiv·al
A1R1C3H4I1V4A1L1
UK/ɑːˈkaɪv(ə)l/UK/ˈɑːkɪv(ə)l/US/ˌɑɹˈkaɪv(ə)l/

adjective

Of or pertaining to an archive or archiving.

“archival boxes    archival paper”

Similar
archivationarchivization
CommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

adjectivearchival (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or pertaining to an archive or archiving.

    In archival photographs, these lost structures appear almost futuristic (even today) in the way they carried trains across deep ravines on slender, balanced combinations of wrought and cast iron.

    2021 March 24, Joseph Brennan, “Metallic Marvels from Rail’s Iron Age”, in Rail, number 927, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 59
  2. not comparableOf a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving.

    archival boxes    archival paper

nounarchival (countable and uncountable, plural archivals)

plural archivals

  1. uncountableThe practice of storing items in an archive; archiving; (countable) an instance of this.

    Our nightly computer backups include the archival of old e-mail messages.

    Synonyms: archivation, archivization

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe practice of storing items in an archive; archiving; (countable) an instance of this.

Similar
archivationarchivization
Also see
archivization

Origin

The adjective is derived from archive (“place for storing earlier, and often historical, material; material so kept, considered as a whole”, noun) + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The noun is derived from archive (“to put (something) in an archive”, verb) + -al (suffix forming nouns, especially of verbal action).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech archivní, archívní
  • archivníof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
  • archívníof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Finnish arkisto-, arkistokelpoinen
  • arkisto-of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
  • arkistokelpoinenof a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
  • arkisto-of a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
  • arkistointipractice of storing items in an archive; an instance of this
French archivistique
  • archivistiqueof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Italian di archiviazione, d'archiviazione
  • di archiviazioneof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
  • d'archiviazioneof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
  • archivisticoof a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
  • archiviaturapractice of storing items in an archive; an instance of this
Lithuanian archỹvinis
  • archỹvinisof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Polish archiwalny
  • archiwalnyof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Portuguese arquival, arquivístico
  • arquivalof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
  • arquivísticoof or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Russian архи́вный
  • архи́вный (arxívnyj)of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Ukrainian архі́вний
  • архі́вний (arxívnyj)of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Cite this entry
APA

archival. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archival

MLA

“archival.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archival. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “archival,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/archival.

Source: archival on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.