edifice
(ˈɛdɪfɪs)
Also 6–8 ædifice, 7 edifyce.
[a. F. édifice, ad. L. ædificium, f. ædis temple, house + -ficium making.]
1. A building, usually a large and stately building, as a church, palace, temple, or fortress; a fabric, structure.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶367 Castelles and othere manere edifices. 1475 Caxton Jason (1477) 71 And with this they shal ordeyn solempne edifices and houses for the cite. 1538 Leland Itin. IV. 72 The ædifices of the Abbey have beene made by many men in continuance. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 225, I haue lost my edifice, by mistaking the place, where I erected it. 1605 Harrington View State Irel. (1880), Hee cold not preach to edifye the Church, yet hee will bee famows to all posterytye for edifyces in the Church. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iv. (1651) 270 The inner roomes of a fair-built and sumptuous ædifice. 1711 Dissenting Teachers Addr. agst. Bill for 50 new Churches 10 Shall this be done for a few ungodly steepled ædifices? 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 128 For you will see under water..the ruins of many edifices. 1849 Freeman Archit. 14 A moist and a dry climate require different kinds of edifices. |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 98 ¶1, I am not for adding to the beautiful Edifices of Nature. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. II. 485 The edifice of a new church must have been raised on a purely democratical basis. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. §5. 223 Upon the integrity and judgment of these Quinqueviri will depend really the whole edifice of the University. 1878 Morley Carlyle, Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 197 The corner-stone of Comte's edifice. |
† 2. a. The action or process of building or construction. b. Style of building, architecture.
| 1580 North Plutarch 394 The Arsenall and Armory..being of a strange and wonderfull edifice. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 2 How..Princes and Magistrates have proceeded in their Edifices. |