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Original · left

Architecture (buildings)

The art, science, and practice of designing physical buildings and habitable structures.

First in use: ancient / pre-modern
Duplicate · right

Software architecture

The structural design, high-level organization, and interaction patterns among software components, hardware, or neural layers.

First in use: the 1960s

Architecture / Architecture (buildings) / Software architecture

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Buildings vs. systems.

Which meaning of Architecture is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Architecture (buildings) came first (ancient / pre-modern). Software architecture arrived in the 1960s. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Architecture (buildings)Software architecture
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

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The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · ancient / pre-modern

Architecture (buildings)

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Duplicate · the 1960s

Software architecture

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More duplicated terms

Programming & software