Etymologically
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arc

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 07:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑːk/, /ɑɹk/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English ark, arc, borrowed from Anglo-Norman arc, Old French arc (“bow, arch”),[2][3][4] from Latin arcus (“bow, arch”) (see arrow),[2][3][5] which de Vaan connects with words for willow and juniper, whose flexible twigs were used for bows.[3] It is a doublet of arch.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The part of a circle the sun appears to pass through from horizon to horizon, as in day's arc: about 1386, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

Any part of a circle or curve is first recorded in 1570.[2][7] An arch was an arc in the 16th century, now obsolete.[7] The luminous electrical discharge between two electrodes is from 1821.[3][7] The verb, to form an electric arc, is from 1882–83, and to move in a curve by 1940.[3][5] The story arc, the development of a plot, is a modern use.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – the sun's arc.[2]
  • 1570 – part of a curve.[2][7]
  • 1821 – an electric arc.[3][7]
  • 1882 – the verb, of electricity.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A part of a circle or other curved line.
  2. Something shaped like a curve: an arc of light.
  3. A glowing discharge of electricity between two electrodes.
  4. The development of a story or character over time.

Verb

  1. To move in a curve.
  2. To form an electric arc.

Word family

  • arc-boutant
  • arc cosecant
  • arc cosine
  • arc cotangent
  • arc lamp
  • arc light
  • arc minute
  • xenon arc

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins