English
arcane
Arcane comes from Latin arcānus ‘hidden, secret’, from arca ‘chest, box, coffer, safe’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *arkā.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarca‘chest, box, coffer, safe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcānus‘hidden, secret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1997arcane
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarca‘chest, box, coffer, safe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcānus‘hidden, secret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1997arcane
Earliest quotation: 1997, : Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault: “A “signature” was placed on all things by God…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- ‘to protect, guard, hold, lock’
ogre, coercion, coerce, 4 more
through Latin arca ‘chest, box, coffer, safe’
Today it means
adj Understood by only a few.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *arkā / arcane