edifice

See also: édifice

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Middle English edifice, from Old French edifice, reborrowed from Latin aedificium (“building”), derived from aedificāre (“to build, establish”) (whence also edify).

Pronunciation
  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈɛd.ɪ.fɪs/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

edifice (plural edifices)

  1. A building; a structure; an architectural fabric, especially a large and spectacular one
  2. An abstract structure; a school of thought.
    • 1904, Edward S. Holden, “Copernicus”, in Popular science monthly, volume 65, page 117:
      The real difficulty was moral, not intellectual. Was the whole edifice of Ptolemy to be destroyed?
terms related to edifice (noun)

Translations

References
  • edifice in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
  • edifice in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
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