arcanus

Latin

Etymology

From arca +‎ -nus. Cognates include arceō (“I defend”), arx (“fortress”), arcera (“ambulance”), Old Armenian արգել (argel, “obstacle”) and Ancient Greek ἀρκέω (arkéō).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /arˈkaː.nus/, [ärˈkäːnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /arˈka.nus/, [ärˈkäːnus]

Adjective

arcānus (feminine arcāna, neuter arcānum); first/second-declension adjective

1. hidden, secret, private, mysterious

   Synonyms: obscūrus, secretus, occultus, clandestinus, perobscūrus

   Antonyms: conspicuus, manifestus

2. intimate, personal, confidential
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.421–423:

     “[...] Sōlam nam perfidus ille / tē colere, arcānōs etiam tibi crēdere sēnsūs; / sōla virī mollīs aditūs et tempora nōrās.”

     [Dido speaks to Anna:] “For that faithless [man] cherished you alone, even confided his intimate feelings to you, and only you have known how and when to gently approach him.”

3. trustworthy (to keep a secret)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	arcānus	arcāna	arcānum		arcānī	arcānae	arcāna
genitive	arcānī	arcānae	arcānī		arcānōrum	arcānārum	arcānōrum
dative	arcānō	arcānae	arcānō		arcānīs
accusative	arcānum	arcānam	arcānum		arcānōs	arcānās	arcāna
ablative	arcānō	arcānā	arcānō		arcānīs
vocative	arcāne	arcāna	arcānum		arcānī	arcānae	arcāna

Related terms

• arcānum
• arceō
• arx

Descendants

• → Catalan: arcà
• → English: arcane
• → Galician: arcano
• → German: arkan
• → Italian: arcano
• → Portuguese: arcano
• → Romanian: arcan
• → Sicilian: arcanu
• → Spanish: arcano

References

• “arcanus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “arcanus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• arcanus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be present at secret consultations: consiliis arcanis interesse (Liv. 35. 18)