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arcane

American  
[ahr-keyn] / ɑrˈkeɪn /

adjective

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

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

adjective

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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.