archie
/ˈɑɹt͡ʃi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.59 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A diminutive of the male given name Archibald, from the Germanic languages, also used as a formal given name.
name
A female given name.
name
A ghost town in Peninsula Township, Grand Traverse County, Michigan, United States.
name
A city in Cass County, Missouri, United States.
name
A former rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada, now part of Ellice-Archie.
Example Sentences
- "But then, dodging airbursts of Archie on the Western Front hadn't exactly been a joyride either."
- "He was seen by an aeroplane, our Archie gunner and a whole division to crash in their lines just opposite our trenches, much jubilation and more congratulations."
- "On a cloudy day one can hop in and out of the clouds, greatly to the annoyance of some Archie commander who, just when he has got range and direction and is about to let fly, finds that his bird has disappeared into a cloud. He fills thatcloud with HE but his quarry emerges from another nearby with a gesture of derision which the gunners below may imagine, though cannot see. On a sunny day, Archie is up early, for he knows that aircraft will be silhouetted against a blue sky. Then the experienced pilot hops in and out of the sun, there being no clouds, while the Archie commander rubs his smarting eyes and uses strong words."
- "An inquisitive aeroplane, which had been hovering over the scene, was picked off as by an Archie and made a forced landing, man and machine buried in filth."
- "Quickly our five machines dodged the Archies as we crossed."
- "FOR ARCHIE USERS. At last, a powerful database with details of every track (over 700 to date) on Classic CD discs from issue 1 to the present day is available for uses of Acorn (Archimedes) computers."
Etymology
Clipping of Archibald + -ie. The sense “anti-aircraft artillery” is said to be from airmen dodging hostile fire and shouting “Archibald, certainly not”, the refrain of a then popular music hall song of the same name first performed by George Robey in 1911. This habit probably originated with the pilot and commander Amyas Borton (1886–1969).
Word Breakdown
- Suffix: ie
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɑɹt͡ʃi/
- British English: /ˈɑːt͡ʃi/