arch

An arch is a curve that holds a gap open. That is the whole engineering trick, and it is worth seeing once. A flat stone laid across an opening cracks in the middle under its own weight; bend the same stones into a curve and every one of them presses on its neighbours, so the load travels sideways and down into the ground, and the doorway stays empty. Stone is strong when squeezed and weak when bent — an arch turns all of the bending into squeezing. It gives us the verb, too: a cat arches its back, an eyebrow arches, and both are making a curve out of something that was straight.

Un arch es una curva que mantiene abierto un hueco. Una piedra plana sobre el vano se parte por el medio; curva las mismas piedras y cada una empuja a su vecina, la carga baja de lado hasta el suelo y la puerta queda vacía. También es verbo: un gato arches el lomo.

Um arch é uma curva que mantém um vão aberto. Uma pedra plana sobre a abertura racha no meio; curve as mesmas pedras e cada uma empurra a vizinha, a carga desce pelos lados até o chão e a passagem continua vazia. Também é verbo: um gato arches as costas.

Un arch est une courbe qui tient un vide ouvert. Une pierre plate posée sur l'ouverture se fend au milieu ; courbez les mêmes pierres et chacune pousse sa voisine, la charge descend sur les côtés jusqu'au sol, et le passage reste vide. C'est aussi un verbe : un chat arches le dos.

Arch adalah lengkung yang menahan sebuah bukaan tetap terbuka. Batu datar di atas bukaan akan retak di tengah; lengkungkan batu yang sama, tiap batu menekan tetangganya, bebannya turun ke samping sampai ke tanah, dan pintunya tetap kosong. Juga kata kerja: kucing arches punggungnya.

Arch, bir boşluğu açık tutan kavistir. Açıklığın üstüne konan düz taş ortadan çatlar; aynı taşları kavise sokun, her biri komşusuna baskı yapar, yük yanlardan zemine iner ve kapı boş kalır. Fiil hâli de vardır: kedi sırtını arch eder.

arch とは、すき間を開けたまま支える曲線です。平らな石を渡すと真ん中で割れますが、同じ石を弧に組むと、どの石も隣を押し合い、重さは横へ、地面へと流れ、出入口は空いたままになります。動詞にもなり、猫は背を arch します。