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First attested in English in early 17th century, the word archive /ˈɑrkaɪv/ is derived from the French archives (plural), in turn from Latin archīum or archīvum, which is the romanized form of the Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheion), "public records, town-hall, residence, or office of chief magistrates", itself from ἀρχή (arkhē), amongst others "magistracy, office, government" (compare an-archy, mon-archy), which comes from the verb ἄρχω (arkhō), "to begin, rule, govern".

The word originally developed from the Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheion), which refers to the home or dwelling of the Archon, in which important official state documents were filed and interpreted under the authority of the Archon. The adjective formed from archive is archival.