[ahr-ki-tek-cher] 
| 1. | the profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. Architecture often includes design or selection of furnishings and decorations, supervision of construction work, and the examination, restoration, or remodeling of existing buildings. |
| 2. | the character or style of building: the architecture of Paris; Romanesque architecture. |
| 3. | the action or process of building; construction. |
| 4. | the result or product of architectural work, as a building. |
| 5. | buildings collectively. |
| 6. | a fundamental underlying design of computer hardware, software, or both. |
| 7. | the structure of anything: the architecture of a novel. |
| ar·chi·tec·ture (är'kĭ-těk'chər) n.
[Latin architectūra, from architectus, architect; see architect.] ar'chi·tec'tur·al adj., ar'chi·tec'tur·al·ly adv. |
architecture architecture
Design, the way components fit together. The term is used particularly of processors, both individual and in general. "The ARM has a really clean architecture". It may also be used of any complex system, e.g. "software architecture", "network architecture".
(1995-05-02)
kɪˌtɛk
