archi·tec·ture [architecturearchitectures] BrE [ˈɑːkɪtektʃə(r)] NAmE [ˈɑːrkɪtektʃər] noun 1. uncountable the art and study of designing buildings •to study architecture 2. uncountable the design or style of a building or buildings •the architecture of the eighteenth century •modern architecture 3. countable, uncountable (computing)the design and structure of a computer system
Word Origin: mid 16th cent.: from Latin architectura, from architectus from Greek arkhitektōn, from arkhi- ‘chief’ + tektōn ‘builder’.