adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ɑːˈkaɪv(ə)l/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɑːkɪv(ə)l/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˌɑɹˈkaɪv(ə)l/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with (one pronunciation) -aɪvəl
CMU ARPABET:AA0 R K AY1 V AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of or pertaining to an archive or archiving.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Of a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
archival boxes archival paper
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The practice of storing items in an archive; archiving; (countable) an instance of this.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
Our nightly computer backups include the archival of old e-mail messages.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: archivation, archivization
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective
Meaning 4
of or relating to or contained in or serving as an archive
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
The adjective is derived from archive (“place for storing earlier, and often historical, material; material so kept, considered as a whole”, noun) + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The noun is derived from archive (“to put (something) in an archive”, verb) + -al (suffix forming nouns, especially of verbal action).
Across languages
Translations
19 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Belarusian:
архі́ўны
(arxíwny)
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Czech:
archivní
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Czech:
archívní
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Finnish:
arkisto-
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
French:
archivistique
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Italian:
di archiviazione
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Italian:
d'archiviazione
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Lithuanian:
archỹvinis
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Macedonian:
архивски
(arhivski)
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Polish:
archiwalny
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Portuguese:
arquival
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Portuguese:
arquivístico
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Russian:
архи́вный
(arxívnyj)
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Ukrainian:
архі́вний
(arxívnyj)
— of or pertaining to an archive or archiving
Finnish:
arkistokelpoinen
— of a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
Finnish:
arkisto-
— of a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
Italian:
archivistico
— of a material: having a quality suited to the conservational needs of archiving
Finnish:
arkistointi
— practice of storing items in an archive; an instance of this
Italian:
archiviatura
— practice of storing items in an archive; an instance of this
