arcane
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- arcanely adverb
- arcaneness noun
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.
Maybe that is true for the 500 biggest U.S. stocks but less so for a relatively arcane and less-researched sector such as BDCs.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
Turning to the arcane economic terminology of international accounting, the balance of payments is a complete ledger of all economic transactions between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026
But that hasn’t stopped foreign academics, officials and business executives from trying to find out—and some are turning to arcane tea leaf-reading techniques dating back to the era of Mao Zedong.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
It’s been a crash course for him, he said, on the often arcane laws that govern who gets to stay in America and who doesn’t.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026
Nanotechnology, a Jesse-obsession, was a subject matter so arcane and technical it’s almost impossible for non-geeks to grasp.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
