edifice
pronunciation
How to pronounce edifice in British English:
UK [ˈedɪfɪs]
How to pronounce edifice in American English:
US [ˈɛdəfɪs]
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- Noun:
- a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
Word Origin
- edifice (n.)
- late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth" + the root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Aedis is from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (cognates: Greek aithein "to burn," Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames," Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal," Old High German eit "funeral pile"), from root *ai- (2) "to burn" (see ash (n.1)).
Synonym
Example
- 1. Take it away and the edifice crumbles .
- 2. We have constructed the entire edifice of our civilisation on this idea .
- 3. Without the higgs , the maths which holds this edifice together would disintegrate .
- 4. Cracks are already visible in the edifice of european unity witness the strain on the schengen visa-free travel scheme .
- 5. The maastricht treaty of 1992 was the final step in the construction of the european edifice .