archi- Meaning, Definition & Usage

Ar"chi-
Etymology
L., archi-, Gr. , a prefix which is from the same root as to be first, to begin; the first place, beginning; chief. Cf. AS. arce-, erce-, OHG. erzi-.
Definitions
  1. A prefix signifying chief, arch; as, architect, archiepiscopal. In Biol. and Anat. it usually means primitive, original, ancestral; as, archipterygium, the primitive fin or wing.

Webster 1913