arcane
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of arcane
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
Explanation
Something arcane is understood or known by only a few people. Almost everyone knows the basics of baseball, but only an elite few possess the arcane knowledge of its history that marks the true fan. A near synonym is esoteric, as in "relating to remote information or knowledge." Experts in academic fields often show off the depth of their knowledge by mentioning some arcane and esoteric fact as if it was common for everyone to know. The origin of arcane is Latin arcānus, "secret, closed," from arca, "a chest, box." Arcana (singular arcanum) are pieces of mysterious knowledge or information.
Vocabulary lists containing arcane
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Advanced English Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fye and Tye are veterans of the local escape room scene — Fye the creator of Evil Genius Escape Rooms and Tye the developer of Arcane Escape Rooms.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025
Her fourth novel, "Babel: An Arcane History" drew upon her love of language, literature and academic settings.
From Salon • May 16, 2023
Arcane parliamentary procedures are suddenly in the spotlight.
From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023
League of Legends inspired animation Arcane, for example, showed it can be done in a way that keeps fans and newcomers entertained.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2023
Kvothe the Arcane and Kvothe Kingkiller are two very different men.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
