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A Word A Day : Arcane
Thursday, 28th February 2008 : Today's Word is ...
Arcane
Pronunciation : aar-káyn
1. difficult or impossible to understand
2. requiring secret knowledge to be understood
3. mysteriously obscure
4. that which is hidden or secret; usually refers to rites associated with the mystery religions or secret societies
5. known or understood by only a few
Early 16th century - Latin arcanus- closed, secret - arca - box
cabalistic, cryptic, enigmatic, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult, puzzling, esoteric, hidden, impenetrable, mystic, recondite, unaccountable, unknowable, esoteric, hidden, secret
• Eclectic means selecting what seems best of various styles, methods or ideas.
• Esoteric means intended for and understandable by only a small knowledgeable group.
• Mysterious means of an obscure nature.
• Mystical means having a divine meaning that transcends human understanding.
common, commonplace, comprehensible, knowable, known, normal, outward
• She knew a lot about Sanskrit grammar and other arcane matters.
• I could not understand those arcane economic theories.
• Tokyo Butter is far from an elegy or a memorial; reaching beyond traditional limitations, it seeks remnants of Deidre's life, passion, and essence in news stories, arcane tidbits of science, balloon warfare, and Internet search engines, among other places.
• The rites of the secret cult were arcane. No one outside the cult knew what they were.
• The arcane formula for the cocktail was scrawled in blood on a faded scrap of paper.
• We could make out only a little of the arcane inscription on the old trunk.
• arcanely : Adverb
• arcaneness : Noun
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