arc
Translingual
English
Etymology
From Middle English ark, from Old French arc, from Latin arcus (“a bow, arc, arch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷos (“bow, arrow”). Doublet of arch, arco, and arrow.
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: äk, IPA(key): /ɑːk/
- (US) enPR: ärk, IPA(key): /ɑɹk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)k
- Homophone: ark


Noun
arc (plural arcs)
- (astronomy) That part of a circle which a heavenly body appears to pass through as it moves above and below the horizon. [from 14th c.]
- (geometry) A continuous part of the circumference of a circle (circular arc) or of another curve. [from 16th c.]
- A curve, in general. [from 17th c.]
- A band contained within parallel curves, or something of that shape. [from 17th c.]
- (electrics) A flow of current across an insulating medium; especially a hot, luminous discharge between either two electrodes or as lightning. [from 19th c.]
- (narratology) A story arc. [from 20th c.]
- (mathematics) A continuous mapping from a real interval (typically [0, 1]) into a space.
- (graph theory) A directed edge.
- (basketball, slang) The three-point line.
- (film) An arclight.
- 2012, Kris Malkiewicz, Film Lighting:
- For all practical purposes the old carbon arcs, which were the backbone of film lighting, are no longer used.
Synonyms
- (curve): curve, swoop
- (circular arc): circular arc, circle segment
- (directed edge): arrow, directed edge
Derived terms
- arc blast
- arc-boutant
- arc-connected
- arc converter
- arc cosecant
- arc cosine
- arc cotangent
- arcdegree
- arc elasticity
- arc eye
- arc fault
- arc-fault circuit interrupter
- arc flash
- arc-form pearly mussel
- arc-hyperbolic function
- arcjet
- arc lamp
- arc-lamp
- arclength
- arclet
- arclike
- arcminute
- arc minute
- arcover
- arc-over
- arc resistance
- arc secant
- arc second
- arc-second
- arcsecond
- arc spring
- arc transmitter
- arcual
- arcweld
- arc welder
- arc welder's disease
- arc welding
- backarc
- behind the arc
- biarc
- carbon arc
- circumhorizontal arc
- diurnal arc
- electric arc
- forearc
- great circle arc
- great-circle arc
- hyperarc
- island arc
- mercury arc rectifier
- minute of arc
- multiarc
- nocturnal arc
- oxyarc
- penalty arc
- Poulsen arc
- redemption arc
- redemptive arc
- reflex arc
- second of arc
- semiarc
- subarc
- subhelic arc
- tropical arc
Translations
|
|
|
Verb
arc (third-person singular simple present arcs, present participle arcing or arcking, simple past and past participle arced or arcked)
- (transitive, intransitive) To move following a curved path.
- 2008, T. R. Elmore, Blood Ties Series, Volume 1, Tainted, Book 1, page 106:
- A warring bloodhunter detected it and skillfully arced his sword through its spinal column before it could return to follow through with its attack.
- 2024, Patricia Taxxon (lyrics and music), “Big Wheel”, in Bicycle:
- The big wheel in the sky
He arcs o'er miles and miles
- (transitive) To shape into an arc; to hold in the form of an arc.
- 1953, James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain, New York, N.Y.: Knopf, →OCLC, part 1 (The Seventh Day):
- His mother, her eyes raised to heaven, hands arked before her, moving, made real for John that patience, that endurance, that long suffering, which he had read in the Bible and found so hard to image.
- (intransitive) To form an electrical arc.
Related terms
Further reading
- “arc”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “arc”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “arc”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Latin arcus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷo-.
Pronunciation
Noun
arc m (plural arcs)
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
- “arc” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “arc”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “arc” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “arc” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French arc, from Latin arcus (“bow, arch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷo-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aʁk/
audio (file)
Noun
arc m (plural arcs)
- bow (weapon)
- arc (curve)
- (geometry) arc, circular arc, circle segment
- (architecture) arch
- (fiction) story arc
Derived terms
- arc à poulies
- arc de cercle
- arc de courbe
- arc de triomphe
- arc électrique
- arc insulaire
- arc long anglais
- arc réflexe
- arc-en-ciel
- arceau
- avoir plus d’une corde à son arc
- lampe à l’arc
- tir à l’arc
Further reading
- “arc”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Friulian
Related terms
- arcâ
See also
Hungarian
Etymology
An archaic compound word of orr (“nose”) and száj (“mouth”), via Proto-Finno-Ugric elements. The original form of these two words was or and szá, the compound word orszá. Over time, the final vowel became short (orsza), the sz changed to c (orca), today a poetic or archaic version. The next change was the initial o to a (arca) which felt as a possessive form and later shortened to the current term.[1][2]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɒrt͡s]
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɒrt͡s
Noun
arc (plural arcok)
Declension
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | arc | arcok |
accusative | arcot | arcokat |
dative | arcnak | arcoknak |
instrumental | arccal | arcokkal |
causal-final | arcért | arcokért |
translative | arccá | arcokká |
terminative | arcig | arcokig |
essive-formal | arcként | arcokként |
essive-modal | arcul | — |
inessive | arcban | arcokban |
superessive | arcon | arcokon |
adessive | arcnál | arcoknál |
illative | arcba | arcokba |
sublative | arcra | arcokra |
allative | archoz | arcokhoz |
elative | arcból | arcokból |
delative | arcról | arcokról |
ablative | arctól | arcoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
arcé | arcoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
arcéi | arcokéi |
Possessive forms of arc | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | arcom | arcaim |
2nd person sing. | arcod | arcaid |
3rd person sing. | arca | arcai |
1st person plural | arcunk | arcaink |
2nd person plural | arcotok | arcaitok |
3rd person plural | arcuk | arcaik |
Derived terms
- arcápolás
- arcbőr
- arccsont
- arcél
- arcfesték
- arcfestés
- arcfintor
- arcforma
- arcideg
- arcizom
- arckép
- arckifejezés
- arckoponya
- arckrém
- arcpirító
- arcpirosító
- arctisztító
- arcüreg
- arcvonás
- arcszín
- arcszőrzet
- álarc
- babaarc
- faarc
- pókerarc
- arca verítékével
- arcokat vág
- arcon csókol
- arcot vág
- arcra borul
- arcról arcra
- arcul csap
- arcul üt
References
- arc in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
- arc in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN
Further reading
- arc in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- arc in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)
Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aɾˠk/
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman arc, from Latin arcus (“a bow, arc, arch”).
Derived terms
- arclampa (“arc-lamp”)
Noun
arc m (genitive singular airc, nominative plural airc)
- Alternative form of earc (“lizard; reptile”)
Declension
Mutation
Irish mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
arc | n-arc | harc | not applicable |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “arc”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “1 orc (‘young pig’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Occitan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aɾk/
(file)
Old French
Noun
arc oblique singular, m (oblique plural ars, nominative singular ars, nominative plural arc)
- bow (weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string)
- (architecture) arch
Coordinate terms
- (bow): saete
Romanian
Etymology
Inherited from Latin arcus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷo-.
Declension
Declension
Related terms
See also
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /arxk/
Noun
arc m
Noun
arc f