1560s, "the art of building, tasteful application of scientific and traditional rules of good construction to the materials at hand," from French architecture, from Latin architectura, from architectus "master builder, chief workman" (see architect). Meaning "buildings constructed architecturally" is from 1610s.

"embracing and caressing a member of the opposite sex," 1825; see neck (v.). In architecture, "moldings near the capital of a column."

in architecture, "an S-shaped molding," 1670s, said to be from a corruption of French ogive "diagonal rib of a vault" of a type normal in 13c. French architecture, earlier augive, a word of unknown origin. According to Watkins, in part from Latin via "way, road" (see via). Related: ogival. Middle English had ogif (late 13c.) "a stone for the diagonal rib of a vault," from the French word and Medieval Latin ogiva.

in architecture, "one of the main stalks on the second row of a Corinthian capital," 1560s, from Latin caulis "stem or stalk of a plant" (see cole (n.1)). The literal sense in English is from 1870.