▪ I. architecture, n.
(ˈɑːkɪtɛktjʊə(r))
[a. F. architecture (? or It. architettura), ad. L. architectūra, f. architect-us: see architect n. and -ure.]
1. The art or science of building or constructing edifices of any kind for human use. Regarded in this wide application, architecture is divided into civil, ecclesiastical, naval, military, which deal respectively with houses and other buildings (such as bridges) of ordinary utility, churches, ships, fortification. But architecture is sometimes regarded solely as a fine art, and then has the narrower meaning explained in quots. 1849, 1879 below.
| 1563 Shute (title) The first and chief Grounds of Architecture vsed in all the auncient and famous monyments. 1581 W. Stafford Exam. Compl. i. (1876) 24 Architecture, that is to say, the scyence of building. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. Wks. I. 292 The management of light is a matter of importance in architecture. 1800 J. Charnock (title) History of Marine Architecture. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps i. §i. 7 Architecture is the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by man..that the sight of them contributes to his mental health, power, and pleasure. 1879 G. Scott Lect. Archit. II. 292 Architecture, as distinguished from mere building, is the decoration of construction. |
2. The action or process of building. arch.
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 381 [If] the great Cities Anchiale and Tarsus were built..both in one day.. Certainely, it was the greatest Architecture of one day, since that great one of sixe. 1736 Butler Anal. i. i. 36 Carriages and leavers and scaffolds are [necessary] in architecture. |
3. concr. Architectural work; structure, building.
| 1611 Tourneur Ath. Trag. v. i, On these two pillars stood the stately frame And architecture of my loftie house. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xxix. (1787) 85 The ruins of their architecture are the schools of modern builders. 1864 Burton Scot Abr. I. v. 291 Architecture, especially if it be of stone. |
4. The special method or ‘style’ in accordance with which the details of the structure and ornamentation of a building are arranged.
| 1703 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 135 The adjectitious Buildings are of no mean Architecture. 1853 Ruskin Stones Ven. II. vi, Many other architectures besides Gothic. 1883 Rideing in Harper's Mag. July 180/1 The Queen Anne architecture of the day. |
5. transf. or fig. Construction or structure generally; both abstr. and concr.
| c 1590 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. ii. vii, The wondrous architecture of the world. 1607 Topsell Serpents 627 Hieroglyphical Emblems..made ready and squared for the architecture of this discourse. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. II. 391 Millions of opaque globes..constitute the moving order of its architecture. 1875 Grindon Life xxvi. 337 In beautiful and ingenious architecture, the birds, the bees, and the wasps, have been competitors. 1907 F. R. Sabin in Morris & McMurrich Human Anat. (ed. 4) v. 490 (heading) The Architecture of the Heart. 1936 Discovery Nov. 363/1 The architecture of molecules. 1959 D. Cooke Lang. Mus. i. 1 We speak of the ‘architecture’ of a symphony, and call architecture, in its turn, ‘frozen music’. 1962 ‘C. E. Maine’ Darkest of Nights ii. 32 He's our protein chemistry expert and he knows a great deal about the architecture of the Hueste virus. |
6. Computing. The conceptual structure and overall logical organization of a computer or computer-based system from the point of view of its use or design; a particular realization of this.
| 1962 F. Brooks in W. Buchholz in Planning Computer Syst. ii. 5 Computer architecture, like other architecture, is the art of determining the needs of the user..and then designing to meet those needs as effectively as possible. 1964 IBM Jrnl. Res. & Devel. VIII. 87 (heading) Architecture of the IBM System/360. Ibid., The term architecture is used here to describe the attributes of a system as seen by the programmer, i.e., the conceptual structure and functional behavior, as distinct from the organization of the data flow and controls, the logical design, and the physical implementation. 1967 H. Hellerman Digital Computer Syst. Princ. viii. 328 A most important factor in machine architecture is the recognition of the increasingly important role of the high-level languages as the principal medium of user-system interaction. 1975 Sci. Amer. May 35/1 One architecture may emphasize facility of arithmetic operations and another may stress convenience of input and output operations. 1979 Kraft & Toy Mini/Microcomputer Hardware Design iii. 121 In the most widely used minicomputer architecture, the CPU communicates with main memory over a high-speed store bus; all program-controlled operations involving external devices are required to take place over a separate I/O bus. 1981 I. Flores Data Base Archit. i. 22 All three data base architectures have implementations which compete on the marketplace. 1984 Freetime Autumn 51/2 (Advt.), Fast, powerful 32-bit architecture: allows windowing..and multi-tasking. 1985 Which Computer? Apr. 20 (Advt.), Because of its multi-processor architecture, its performance doesn't deteriorate as more users are added. |
▪ II. ˈarchitecture, v. rare.
[f. prec. n.]
To design as architect.
| a 1821 Keats Fingal's Cave (D.) This was architectur'd thus By the great Oceanus. 1893 Strand Mag. VI. 268/1 The house..was architectured by John Belcher from plans by its owner. 1939 Auden & Isherwood Journey to War 120 The slope has been architectured into terraces. |
▪ III. architecture
variant of architector. Obs.