Description

Tectonics: from the Greek root Tektos, or "builder"
Structure: from the Latin word Struere, or "“to build"

"The two words tectonics and architecture are derived from the same Greek root. Tectonics may be defined, for geological purposes, as the architecture of the earth’s crust."
      - E.A. Bailey, Tectonic Essays: Mainly Alpine

Tectonics and structure both deal with motion and deformation of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. The difference lies in:

• Tectonics = regional to global scale
• Structure = submicroscopic to regional scale