n. & v.
n. (usu. in pl.) 1 a collection of esp. public or corporate documents or records. 2 the place where these are kept.
v.tr. 1 place or store in an archive. 2 Computing transfer (data) to a less frequently used file, e.g. from disc to tape. archival adj.
[ F archives (pl.) f. L archi(v)a f. Gk arkheia public records f. arkhe government ]