ˈedəfə̇s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aedificium, from aedificare to construct — more at edify
1. : building ; especially : a large or massive structure (as a church or government building)
2. : something built up in a manner analogous to the erection of an architectural structure
on this argument he based his edifice of faith — A.N.Whitehead
does not feel that the whole edifice of science has collapsed and crumbled — G.B.Shaw