Dictionary

arcane en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ɑɹˈkeɪn/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-der. Latin arca Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin arcānusbor. English arcane Borrowed from Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arceō (“to shut up, enclose”); cognate with Latin arca (“a chest”).

Meanings

1. Understood by only a few.
   • He had an arcane knowledge of ancient rituals.
   • The professor’s lecture was full of arcane references.
   • arcane knowledge
   • The manuscript contained arcane symbols no one could decipher.
   • arcane rituals
2. (broadly) Obscure, mysterious.
   • arcane origins
   • arcane details
3. Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge to understand.
   • 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)
4. Extremely old (e.g. interpretation or knowledge), and possibly irrelevant.
   • an arcane law

Forms

Antonyms

exoteric · accessible · irrecondite · open · mundane · well-known · nonesoteric

Deriveds

arcaneness · arcanology · superarcane · arcanity · arcanely · arcanist

Hypernyms

exclusive · mysterious · covert · incomprehensible

Hyponyms

mandarin · acroamatic

Relateds

arcana · arculus

Synonyms

esoteric · recondite · dark · clandestine · obscure · recondite · esoteric · mystic · esoteric · arcane · enigmatic · enigmatic · occult

Translations (46)

cs tajemný (understood by only a few; obscure) · el μυστικός (understood by only a few; obscure) · sh таја̀нствен (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv hemlighetsfull (understood by only a few; obscure) · ru мисти́ческий (understood by only a few; obscure) · is dulinn (understood by only a few; obscure) · ru скры́тый (understood by only a few; obscure) · fr arcane (understood by only a few; obscure) · ru та́йный (understood by only a few; obscure) · uk містичний (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv esoterisk (understood by only a few; obscure) · sh tajànstven (understood by only a few; obscure) · es arcano (understood by only a few; obscure) · de arkan (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv fördold (understood by only a few; obscure) · el απόκρυφος (understood by only a few; obscure) · uk прихований (understood by only a few; obscure) · tr saklı (understood by only a few; obscure) · cs tajuplný (understood by only a few; obscure) · it arcano (understood by only a few; obscure) · la arcānus (understood by only a few; obscure) · pt arcano (understood by only a few; obscure) · fa سری (understood by only a few; obscure) · tr gizemli (understood by only a few; obscure) · nl duister (understood by only a few; obscure) · ca arcà (understood by only a few; obscure) · de geheimnisvoll (understood by only a few; obscure) · tr esrarlı (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv hemlig (understood by only a few; obscure) · fi salainen (understood by only a few; obscure) · ca secret (understood by only a few; obscure) · bg тайнствен (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv svårtillgänglig (understood by only a few; obscure) · nl geheim (understood by only a few; obscure) · sh mȉsteriōzan (understood by only a few; obscure) · tr içrek (understood by only a few; obscure) · sh ми̏стерио̄зан (understood by only a few; obscure) · de geheim (understood by only a few; obscure) · ru таи́нственный (understood by only a few; obscure) · de obskur (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv sekret (understood by only a few; obscure) · is hulinn (understood by only a few; obscure) · eo arkana (understood by only a few; obscure) · bg езотеричен (understood by only a few; obscure) · uk таємний (understood by only a few; obscure) · sv mystisk (understood by only a few; obscure)