infrastructure
/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃər/·인프라스트럭처·noun
basic systems and facilities of a society
LatinCEFR B2
Root
infra- (below, underneath) + Latin 'structura' (structure)
French infrastructure (early 20th c. military term, 'lower structure') → English (post-1927) infrastructure
In a word
infra- (below) + structure = 'the structure underneath'. Roads, electricity, water, networks — all the things that hold daily life up from below. The word began as a 1920s French military term and now stretches to "IT infrastructure". When a city goes dark, the invisible word suddenly enters every mouth.
Examples
The country invests heavily in infrastructure.
Roads, water, and power are essential infrastructure.
Earthquakes damaged the city's infrastructure.
Related
structureconstructinstructdestructioninstrument