archein
Archein, from the Greek verb arc̄hein (ἄρχειν), means to rule, govern, or to begin. Its noun form archē (ἀρχή) denotes a beginning, origin, or first principle. The root arch- underlies English terms such as monarch, oligarchy, and hierarchy, all connected to the sense of order, authority, or founding that the verb conveys.
In ancient Greek philosophy, archē and archein are central to the search for a first principle of
Linguistically, archein appears in both political and cosmological contexts: a ruler archein a city, or a cosmic
Today, archē remains a fundamental term in the study of ancient philosophy, the history of ideas about