Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Archi-

Ar′chi-

.
[L.,
archi-
, Gr.
ἀρχι-
, a prefix which is from the same root as
ἄρχειν
to be first, to begin;
ἀρχη
the first place, beginning;
ἀρχόσ
chief. Cf. AS.
arce-
,
erce-
, OHG.
erzi-
, G.
erz-
.]
A prefix signifying chief, arch;
as,
archi
tect,
archi
episcopal
. In
(Biol.)
and
(Anat.)
it usually means primitive, original, ancestral;
as,
archi
pterygium, the primitive fin or wing
.