Art & MusicGreek → English
Architect
/ˈɑrkɪtɛkt/noun
A person who designs buildings and oversees their construction.
The Greek roots
ἀρχι-
arkhi-
chief, first
τέκτων
téktōn
carpenter, builder
Literally: “chief builder”
The story of the word
An ἀρχιτέκτων was the head craftsman on site, foreman rather than artist, and the shift towards the drawing board is a Renaissance one. τέκτων is a working carpenter, the word the gospels use for Joseph's trade. The same root builds technical and tectonic, so the plates grinding under a continent are named for carpentry.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → French → English
- First recorded
- 1560s
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
architecturetechnicaltectonicmonarcharchive
In a sentence
The architect wanted glass on the north wall and the planning committee wanted brick.