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arca

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word arca

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1278 More words from the 13th century
Inherited from
Latin arca
Ultimate origin
Latin arca
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin arca
Italian arca
Portuguese arca
Spanish arca
From the same root
English ark ← arca
Latin arcānus ← arca
Latin arcārius ← arca
Latin arcula ← arca

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /ˈaʁ.kɐ/, [ˈah.kɐ][1]
  • São-Paulo: /ˈaɾ.kɐ/[1]
  • Rio-de-Janeiro: /ˈaʁ.kɐ/, [ˈaχ.kɐ][1]
  • Caipira: /ˈaɻ.kɐ/[1]

Forms

arca f (plural arcas)[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote arca and archa, and arqua is recorded in the 14th century.[2][3] Feijó's spelling guide of 1734 still sets arca against the spelling arqua.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin arca (“chest, box, coffer”), written Old Galician-Portuguese arca and Old Galician-Portuguese archa in the oldest texts.[2][3][5][6] Wiktionary describes the Old Galician-Portuguese word as taken from Latin rather than inherited.[1] Vieira put the old spelling with ⟨ch⟩ down to the influence of other Romance languages.[7]

The same Latin word is Galician arca, Spanish arca, Catalan arca, French arche and Italian arca; it was also borrowed into Old High German arahha.[8][9] In Spanish the word is recorded from the poem of the Cid on.[10][11]

De Vaan derives the Latin noun from the root of arceō (“to contain, keep off”) and reconstructs Proto-Italic *arkā (“container”); it may be an inherited noun or a formation within Italic.[12] Wiktionary connects it, with some doubt, with Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Latin charters of the 10th century already use the word for boundary marks: one of 911 has in archa petrinea “at the stone mark”.[13] Du Cange explains such arcae as the markers set at the edges of an estate.[14] A Latin document of 1109 lists archas among goods offered, the record that Houaiss and Machado give as the first.[2][5] In Galician-Portuguese texts the word means a chest or coffer: the Cantigas de Santa Maria have hũa arca feita d'ouro “a chest made of gold” and hũa grand'arca de farynna chẽa “a great chest full of flour”, and the Crónica Geral speaks of muytas arcas cheas d'ouro et de prata “many chests full of gold and silver”.[13]

Semantic evolution

Besides the chest for clothes, grain or flour, the medieval word named a strongbox and the treasury it held, senses Houaiss now marks as old.[2][13] The Crónica Troiana uses it for a wooden platform built out from the top of a tower.[13] A satirical cantiga uses it figuratively for the female sex.[15] The Elucidário records the arca da Piedade, the coffer that received money for ransoming captives.[16] Bluteau names the arca dos órfãos and the arca da piedade of the Ordenações, and the three chests in which the University kept its money.[17]

Medieval Latin already used arca for the chest of the body, the thorax, as well as for Noah's ark.[18] The Church Latin word for the ark translated κιβωτός (kibōtós).[19] Morais recorded as arcas “the ribs and flanks”, and Houaiss keeps arca do peito “thorax” as an old phrase.[20][2] The name of the ark clams comes from the scientific Latin genus name Arca.[2]

Later senses include a reservoir of an aqueduct, the arca de água, and in Portugal the chest freezer, arca congeladora.[21][2] Dialect surveys of Portugal record arca for a granary and for the cistern of a spring.[22]

Timeline

  • 911 – a Latin charter has in archa petrinea, for a boundary mark.[13]
  • 1059 – Arca as a place name in a Latin document.[5]
  • 1109 – archas in a Latin document.[5][2]
  • 1278 – first record of the spelling arca given by Houaiss.[2]
  • 13th century, second half – the Cantigas de Santa Maria use arca and archa.[13]
  • 14th century – the spelling arqua.[3]
  • c. 1430 – the Horto do Esposo (copied 1390–1437) has arca.[23]
  • 1507 – first record of the derivative arcaz.[24]
  • 1569 – Cardoso's Portuguese–Latin dictionary renders arca with Latin capsa and arca.[25]
  • 1611 – Barbosa quotes the proverb na arca aberta o justo peca “at an open chest even the just man sins”.[26]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau describes the arca dos órfãos and the arca da piedade.[17]
  • 1813 – Morais records as arcas for the ribs and flanks.[20]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A large chest, usually rectangular and of wood, with a flat lid, for keeping clothes, grain or other things.[2][27][21]
  2. (dated) A coffer for money or valuables; a strongbox.[2][28][1]
  3. (dated) The treasury of a person, family, institution or country.[2][27]
  4. (dated) The chest of the body, the thorax (arca do peito).[2][28]
  5. (Minas Gerais) The last floating rib.[2][27]
  6. (malacology) A bivalve mollusc of the genus Arca, an ark clam.[2][1]
  7. (biblical) The ark: arca de Noé, the vessel of the Flood, and arca da Aliança, the Ark of the Covenant.[2][29]
  8. (Portugal) A chest freezer (arca congeladora).[2][21]
  9. (Brazil, colloquial) A pawnshop.[30][1]
  10. (Trás-os-Montes) A hug.[30][1]

Word family

  • arcaz
  • arqueta
  • arquejar
  • arcar
  • arcabouço

Usage notes

In Portugal arca por arca means “chest to chest, hand to hand”, of a fight.[2][29] Figuratively arca de Noé is a house crowded with people and animals or with odd things, and Houaiss records it in Portugal as a joking name for a pawnshop.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. arca
  3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. arca
  4. ^ Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. arca
  5. ^ a b c d Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. arca
  6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. arca
  7. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 1, 529
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 611
  9. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. arca
  10. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 314
  11. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. arca
  12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  13. ^ a b c d e f Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. arca
  14. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre, p. s.v. arca 1
  15. ^ Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. arca
  16. ^ Viterbo, Joaquim de Santa Rosa de (1798–1799), Elucidario das palavras, termos e frases que em Portugal antiguamente se usárão, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 10
  17. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. arca
  18. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. arca
  19. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. arche
  20. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 1, 172
  21. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. arca
  22. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. arca
  23. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. arca
  24. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. arcaz
  25. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. arca
  26. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. arca
  27. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. arca
  28. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. arca
  29. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 863
  30. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. arca

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Arca.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/arca. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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