# archive

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɑːkaɪv/ · frequency rank #7,311

## Definitions
1. A place for storing earlier, and often historical, material. An archive usually contains documents (letters, records, newspapers, etc.) or other types of media kept for historical interest.
2. The material so kept, considered as a whole (compare archives).
3. Natural deposits of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time.

## Etymology
First appears c. 1603 in a translation by Philemon Holland. From French archive(s), from Latin archīvum, from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon, “town hall”).

## Easily confused with
- **arrive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/archive-vs-arrive)
- **archives** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/archive-vs-archives)
- **active** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/active-vs-archive)
- **Archie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/archie-vs-archive)
- **achieve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/achieve-vs-archive)
- **archival** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/archival-vs-archive)

## Common misspellings (10)
`acrhive`, `arcchive`, `archhive`, `archiev`, `archivve`, `archvie`, `arcihve`, `arhcive`, `arrchive`, `rachive`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/archive