# architecture

Pronunciation: US say "AHR-ki-tek-chur" /ˈɑɹ.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃɚ/; UK say "AHR-ki-tek-chuh" /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.tʃə/

## Noun

1. The art and science of designing buildings and other structures and managing their construction, especially when they are well proportioned and decorated.
   - Simple: The work of planning and designing buildings, often to make them strong and good to look at.
   - _The firm is known for architecture that blends glass fronts with traditional stonework._
   - _He spent years learning architecture before opening his own studio._
2. A particular style or manner of building design, such as the look shared by structures from one era or region.
   - Simple: A certain style of designing buildings, like the look used in one time or place.
   - _The cathedral is a fine example of Romanesque architecture._
   - _Visitors admire the colonial architecture lining the old harbor._
3. The overall design of a system or product and the way its parts fit together.
   - Simple: The way a system or product is built and arranged inside.
   - _The team documented the architecture of the entire platform before coding began._
   - _A clean architecture lets developers replace components without breaking the rest._
4. An overarching structure that unifies separate parts into a coherent whole.
   - Simple: A structure that brings different parts together into one whole.
   - _The treaty created an architecture for cooperation among the member states._
   - _Her theory provides an architecture linking several once-separate ideas._
5. A family of CPUs that share a common instruction set and offer partial or full compatibility with software built for one another.
   - Simple: A group of computer processors that share the same basic instructions and can run much of the same software.
   - _The x86 architecture has dominated desktop computers for decades._
   - _Switching to a new architecture often means recompiling existing software._
6. The specific model or design of a particular microchip or CPU.
   - Simple: A particular model or design of a computer chip.
   - _The processor's architecture includes eight cores and a large cache._
   - _Reviewers praised the architecture of the company's newest graphics chip._
7. Construction in a general sense; the frame, structure, or workmanship of something.
   - Simple: The way something is built, or the work that goes into building it.
   - _The cabinet's solid architecture reflects careful craftsmanship._
   - _Critics noted the sturdy architecture of the medieval walls._

## Origin

Borrowed from French 'architecture', from Latin 'architectūra'. It ultimately comes from 'architect', which goes back to the Ancient Greek 'arkhitéktōn', literally meaning 'chief builder' or 'principal craftsman'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/architecture (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).