arcane

[ahr-keyn]

adjective

1. known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric.

   She knew a lot about Sanskrit grammar and other arcane matters.

arcane

/ ɑːˈkeɪn /

adjective

1. requiring secret knowledge to be understood; mysterious; esoteric

Other Word Forms

• arcanely adverb
• arcaneness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of arcane¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French, from Latin arcānus, from arc(ēre) “to enclose, restrain, ward off” (derivative of arca “box, chest, coffer”) + -ānus -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of arcane¹

C16: from Latin arcānus secret, hidden, from arcēre to shut up, keep safe

Example Sentences

She knows, vaguely, it has something to do with how California draws the boundaries for its 52 congressional districts, a convoluted and arcane process that’s not exactly top of the mind for your average person.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Notable in an off-year special election about the arcane and complicated process of redistricting, 71% of likely voters said they had heard a significant amount of information about the ballot measure, according to the poll.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It is true that basing a fiction on a lot of arcane knowledge runs the risk of leaving the uninitiated confused or simply unengaged.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Joe Reade from the Mull Campus working group told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that being forced to send children off the island to board for school is an "arcane" thing to do.

Read more on BBC

He was exploiting an arcane loophole on a much larger mission to become the next chess world champion.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• esoteric 
• impenetrable