late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth" + the root of facere "to make" (see factitious).
Aedis is from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (cognates: Greek aithein "to burn," Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames," Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal," Old High German eit "funeral pile"), from root *ai- (2) "to burn" (see ash (n.1)).
实用例句
1. Their new manifesto hardly threatens to bring the whole edifice of capitalism crashing down.
他们新的宣言声称要摧毁整个资本主义大厦，这是不可能的。
来自《权威词典》
2. The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.
美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
来自辞典例句
3. He surveyed the edifice from the outside and admired greatly.
他从外边打量着大厦,对它赞美备至.
来自辞典例句
4. Rockfeller critics were fond of accusing him of having an " edifice complex . "
