arc English · revision 6382

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386|origins=la arcus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑːk/, /ɑɹk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English ark, arc, [[bor|xno|arc]], Old French [[m|fro|arc|t=bow, arch]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|arcus|t=bow, arch]] (see [[arrow]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) which de Vaan connects with words for willow and juniper, whose flexible twigs were used for bows.^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[arch]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==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''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Any part of a circle or curve is first recorded in 1570.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) An arch was an arc in the 16th century, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) The luminous electrical discharge between two electrodes is from 1821.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, to form an electric arc, is from 1882–83, and to move in a curve by 1940.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The ''story arc'', the development of a plot, is a modern use.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – the sun's arc.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – part of a curve.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1821 – an electric arc.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1882 – the verb, of electricity.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A part of a [[circle]] or other curved line.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something shaped like a curve: ''an arc of light''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A glowing discharge of [[electricity]] between two electrodes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The development of a story or character over time.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move in a curve.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To form an electric arc.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[arc-boutant]]

+ * [[arc cosecant]]

+ * [[arc cosine]]

+ * [[arc cotangent]]

+ * [[arc lamp]]

+ * [[arc light]]

+ * [[arc minute]]

+ * [[xenon arc]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arch]]

+ * [[archer]]

+ * [[arcade]]

+ * [[arrow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}