noun · verb · 8 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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɑːkaɪv/
Received-Pronunciation:/-kɪv/
Received-Pronunciation:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:är'kīv'
General-American:/ˈɑɹˌkaɪv/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈaːkɑɪv/
CMU ARPABET:AA1 R K AY2 V
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Chiefly in the form archives.
A repository or other place for storing material (such as documents and records) no longer in current use, and usually having historical value.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Chiefly in the form archives.
The material so stored, considered as a whole.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
His archive of Old High German texts is the most extensive in Britain.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Chiefly in the form archives.
The material so stored, considered as a whole.
A natural deposit of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
Topics: biology, ecology, natural-sciences
Examples
peat archive soil archive
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A collection, a repository.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To place or store (something, such as a document or record) in an archive (noun sense 1.1).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
I was planning on archiving the documents from 2001.
The library archives some of its older books.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: archivize
Antonyms: de-archive, unarchive
6
verb
Meaning 6
To transfer (less used or obsolete data, files, etc.) to a storage medium for long-term storage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: file away
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: collect, pull in
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2er-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h2ergh-der.? Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ) Ancient Greek *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos) Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon)bor. Latin archīvumbor. French archives French archivebor. English archive The noun is borrowed from French archive, archif, from Late Latin archīvum, archīum (“archive; room containing an archive; public record office”), from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon, “office of a magistrate; public building or office; town hall; (in the plural) archives; public records”), a noun use of the neuter form of *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos, “relating to an office”), from ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ, “beginning, origin; authority, sovereignty”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to govern, rule”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h2er- (“to fit; to fix; to put together”), or *h2ergh- (“to begin; to command; to rule”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.
Across languages
Translations
151 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
arkiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Arabic:
أَرْشِيف
(ʔaršīf)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:
ܐܲܪܟܵܐ
(arkā)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Armenian:
արխիվ
(arxiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Azerbaijani:
كوتوك
(kötük)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Azerbaijani:
arxiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Belarusian:
архі́ў
(arxíw)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Bulgarian:
архи́в
(arhív)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Catalan:
arxiu
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Chinese Mandarin:
存檔 /存档
(cúndàng)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Chinese Mandarin:
檔案 /档案
(dàng'àn)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Chinese Mandarin:
檔案館 /档案馆
(dàng'ànguǎn)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Chinese Mandarin:
卷宗
(juànzōng)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Chinese Mandarin:
歸檔 /归档
(guīdàng)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Crimean Tatar:
kütük
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Czech:
archiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Danish:
arkiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Dutch:
archief
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Esperanto:
arĥivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Esperanto:
arkivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Esperanto:
arĥivejo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Esperanto:
arkivejo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Estonian:
arhiiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Finnish:
arkisto
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
French:
archives
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Gagauz:
arhiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Galician:
arquivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Gallurese:
alciu
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Georgian:
არქივი
(arkivi)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
German:
Archiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Greek:
αρχείο
(archeío)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Greek:
σμήνος
(smínos)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Ancient Greek:
ἀρχεῖα
(arkheîa)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hausa:
rumbun
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hebrew:
אַרְכִיּוֹן
(arkhión)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hindi:
पुरालेख
(purālekh)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hungarian:
archívum
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hungarian:
irattár
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hungarian:
levéltár
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Hungarian:
okmánytár
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Indonesian:
arsip
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Interlingua:
archivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Irish:
aircív
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Irish:
cartlann
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Italian:
archivio
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Italian:
banca dati
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Japanese:
アーカイブ
(ākaibu)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Japanese:
文書の保管所
(bunsho no hokansho)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Japanese:
書庫
(shoko)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Kazakh:
архив
(arxiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Kazakh:
мұрағат
(mūrağat)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Khmer:
ប័ណ្ណសារ
(bannaʼsaa)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Korean:
아카이브
(akaibeu)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Korean:
보관소
(bogwanso)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Korean:
공문서
(gongmunseo)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Kyrgyz:
архив
(arhiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Latin:
archium
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Latin:
archīvum
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Latin:
tabulārium
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Latvian:
arhīvs
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Lithuanian:
archyvas
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Macedonian:
архив
(arhiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Malay:
arkib
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Manchu:
ᡩᠠᠩᠰᡝ ᠪᠣᠣ
(dangse boo)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Māori:
pūranga
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Māori:
whare pūranga
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Mongolian:
архив
(arxiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Norwegian Bokmål:
arkiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Pashto:
خونديځ
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Persian:
آرشیو
(âršiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Persian:
بایگانی
(bâyegâni)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Polish:
archiwum
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Portuguese:
arquivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Romagnol:
archìvi
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Romanian:
arhivă
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Russian:
архи́в
(arxív)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Sassarese:
archíbiu
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Scottish Gaelic:
tasg-lann
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Serbo-Croatian:
а̀рхӣв
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Serbo-Croatian:
пи̏смохрана
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Serbo-Croatian:
àrhīv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Serbo-Croatian:
pȉsmohrana
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Slovak:
archív
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Slovene:
arhiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Spanish:
archivo
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Swedish:
arkiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Tagalog:
sinupan
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Tajik:
архив
(arxiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Tajik:
бойгонӣ
(boygoni)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Tatar:
архив
(arxiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Thai:
หอจดหมายเหตุ
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Thai:
หน่วยเก็บถาวร
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Turkish:
arşiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Ottoman Turkish:
كوتوك
(kütük)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Turkmen:
arhiw
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Ukrainian:
архі́в
(arxív)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Uzbek:
arxiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Uzbek:
hujjatxona
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Vietnamese:
trung tâm lưu trữ
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Vietnamese:
kho tàng
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Volapük:
ragiv
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Yiddish:
אַרכיוו
(arkhiv)
— repository or other place for storing material no longer in current use, and usually having historical value
Finnish:
arkisto
— material so stored, considered as a whole
Hindi:
पुरालेख
(purālekh)
— material so stored, considered as a whole
Indonesian:
pertinggal
— material so stored, considered as a whole
Finnish:
arkisto
— natural deposit of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time
Armenian:
արխիվացնել
(arxivacʻnel)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Bulgarian:
архивирам
(arhiviram)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Chinese Mandarin:
檔案 /档案
(dàng'àn)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Chinese Mandarin:
歸檔 /归档
(guīdàng)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Czech:
archivovat
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Danish:
arkivere
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Dutch:
archiveren
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Esperanto:
arĥivi
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Esperanto:
arkivi
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Finnish:
arkistoida
— to place or store (something) in an archive
French:
archiver
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Galician:
arquivar
— to place or store (something) in an archive
German:
archivieren
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Greek:
αρχειοθετώ
(archeiothetó)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Hungarian:
archivál
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Indonesian:
mengarsipkan
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Indonesian:
mempertinggal
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Interlingua:
archivar
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Italian:
archiviare
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Japanese:
アーカイブに格納する
(ākaibu ni kakunō suru)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Korean:
보존하다
(bojonhada)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Korean:
보관하다
(bogwanhada)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Lithuanian:
archyvuoti
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Māori:
pūranga
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Māori:
whakapūkete
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Māori:
whakaputu
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Norman:
archiver
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Norwegian Bokmål:
arkivere
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Norwegian Nynorsk:
arkivera
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Norwegian Nynorsk:
arkivere
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Polish:
archiwizować
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Polish:
zarchiwizować
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Portuguese:
arquivar
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Romanian:
arhiva
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Russian:
архиви́ровать
(arxivírovatʹ)
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Serbo-Croatian:
архиви́рати
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Serbo-Croatian:
arhivírati
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Slovak:
archivovať
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Slovene:
arhivirati
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Spanish:
archivar
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Swedish:
arkivera
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Turkish:
arşivlemek
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Turkish:
belgeliklemek
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Vietnamese:
lưu trữ thông tin
— to place or store (something) in an archive
Finnish:
arkistoida
— to transfer (less used or obsolete data, files, etc.) to a storage medium for long-term storage
