Etymology

arcane

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Today it means: Understood by only a few. Full definition →

Latin arcānus ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂erk-
  2. Latinarca
  3. Latinarcānus
  4. English todayarcane

Borrowed from Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arceō (“to shut up, enclose”); cognate with Latin arca (“a chest”).

Words from the same roots

Latinarcānus all →

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.