arcane
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arceō (“to shut up, enclose”); cognate with Latin arca (“a chest”).
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɑɹˈkeɪn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪn
Adjective edit
arcane (comparative more arcane, superlative most arcane)
- Understood by only a few.
- (by extension) Obscure, mysterious.
- Synonyms: enigmatic, esoteric, recondite, clandestine
- arcane origins
- arcane details
- Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge to understand.
- 1997: Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 67, The Renaissance Episteme (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN
- A “signature” was placed on all things by God to indicate their affinities — but it was hidden, hence the search for arcane knowledge. Knowing was guessing and interpreting, not observing or demonstrating.
- 1997: Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 67, The Renaissance Episteme (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN
- Extremely old (e.g. interpretation or knowledge), and possibly irrelevant.
- An arcane law
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
understood by only a few; obscure
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Further reading edit
- “arcane”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “arcane”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “arcane”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
arcane (plural arcanes)
- (dated) arcane, secret, mysterious
Noun edit
arcane m (plural arcanes)
Further reading edit
- “arcane”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian edit
Adjective edit
arcane
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /arˈkaː.ne/, [ärˈkäːnɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /arˈka.ne/, [ärˈkäːne]
Adjective edit
arcāne