arcana

English

Etymology

From Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arcēre (“to withhold”), arca (“a chest”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪnə
• Rhymes: -ɑːnə
• IPA^(key): /ɑɹˈkeɪnə/, /ɑɹˈkɑːnə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

arcana (uncountable)

1. Specialized knowledge that is mysterious to the uninitiated.
   • 1827, Lydia Sigourney, Poems, To the Moon, page 15:

     Thou deign'st no answer,—or I fain would ask
     If since thy bright creation, thou hast seen
     Ought like a Newton, whose admitted eye
     The arcana of the universe explored
     Light's subtle ray its mechanism disclosed,
     The impetuous comet his mysterious lore
     Unfolded,

   • 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], page R29:

     This is not, however, a mere salmagundi of alphabetical arcana.

Derived terms

• lesser arcana
• major arcana
• minor arcana

 

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂erk- (0 c, 10 e)

Translations

knowledge that is mysterious to the uninitiated

• Finnish: arkana (fi)
• Polish: arkana (pl) nvir, arkany (pl) nvir

See also

• tarot

Noun

arcana

1. plural of arcanum

Anagrams

• Aracan, Canara, carana

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ərˈka.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [aɾˈka.na]

Adjective

arcana

1. feminine singular of arcà

Italian

Adjective

arcana

1. feminine singular of arcano

Latin

Pronunciation

• arcāna: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /arˈkaː.na/, [ärˈkäːnä]
• arcāna: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /arˈka.na/, [ärˈkäːnä]
• arcānā: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /arˈkaː.naː/, [ärˈkäːnäː]
• arcānā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /arˈka.na/, [ärˈkäːnä]

Adjective

arcāna

1. inflection of arcānus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Adjective

arcānā

1. ablative feminine singular of arcānus

Portuguese

Adjective

arcana

1. feminine singular of arcano

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɾˈkana/ [aɾˈka.na]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ar‧ca‧na

Adjective

arcana

1. feminine singular of arcano