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
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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.
The book’s style is more professorial than memoirist, and deals with themes from Aristotle and Plato to Hobbes, Nietzsche, Hegel and other more arcane philosophers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The other key concession concerns a seemingly arcane detail of group structure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
It’s important to be able to talk in that way and bring the debate actually away from arcane interpretation and back towards: So what are we even doing in the first place here?
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
So what better time to drop a new album full of arcane jokes, baffling vocal affects and light conspiracy theorizing?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
By now the reader will not be surprised to learn that an apparently arcane debate about the distant past could become vehemently personal.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
