Archives — Definition

dictionary definition archive archive [ r kīv ]

noun  (plural archives)

Definition:  

1. collection of documents: a collection of documents such as letters, official papers, photographs, or recorded material, kept for their historical interest ( often used in the plural ) We'll have to check the archives.

2. place where archives are held: a building or room that houses archives

3. comput backup of computer files: a copy of computer files stored, often in compressed form, on tape or disk

4. comput file of compressed computer files: a computer file containing other compressed files

5. online Internet directory: a directory of files that Internet users can access using anonymous File Transfer Protocol

transitive verb  (3rd person present singular archives, present participle archiving, past and past participle archived)

Definition:  

1. put document in archive: to store a document in an archive

2. comput store data externally: to transfer data from a computer's hard disk to a disk or, formerly, a tape for storage. Optical disks are used to archive files as they are more reliable than floppy disks for long-term storage.

3. comput combine computer files: to store compressed copies of computer files in a single file

[Early 17th century. Via French< Latin archiva archia< Greek arkheia 'things kept at the public office', plural of arkheion 'ruler's house, public office' < arkhē 'beginning, government'] archival [ aar kv'l ] adjective 3 Dec 2010 06:08
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