LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

arca1

arca f (genitive arcae)
Classical[ˈar.ka]Ecclesiastical[ˈar.ka]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininechest, box, coffer, safe (safe place for storing items, or anything of a similar shape)
  2. femininecoffin (box for the dead)
  3. feminineark (kind of ship that holds things safe)
  4. feminineNoah's Ark
  5. feminineArk of the Covenant
  6. femininecistern, reservoir, cupboard, prison cell
    Arca, this time in Latin, is the chest, the "ark of acacia wood," which contains the stone Tablets; but arca is also the cupboard, the coffin, the prison cell, or the cistern, the reservoir.1995, Jacques Derrida, translated by Eric Prenowitz, Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, translation of Mal d'Archive: une impression freudienne (in French), page 23:

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vās ligneum, quod claudī potest; in arcā vestēs et rēs cārae servantur.
arca -ae f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativearcaarcae
archae
genitivearcae
archae		arcārum
archārum
dativearcae
archae		arcīs
archīs
accusativearcam
archam		arcās
archās
ablativearcāarcīs
archīs
vocativearcaarcae
archae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

aliquem a ceteris separare et in arcam conicere ne quis cum eo colloqui possit (Mil. 22. 60)
to isolate a witness.

arca, ae, f. arceo: arca et arx quasi res secretae, a quibus omnes arceantur, Serv. ad Verg. A. 1, 262; v. arceo,
I. a place for keeping any thing, a chest, box.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: arca vestiaria, Cato, R. R. 11, 3: ex illā oleā arcam esse factam eoque conditas sortes, Cic. Div. 2, 41, 86; Suet. Tib. 63: arca ingens variorum venenorum plena, id. Calig. 59 al.—Very freq.,
B. Esp.,
1. A box for money, a safe, a coffer, and particularly of the rich, and loculi was their purse, porte-monnaie, while sacculus was the pouch of the poor, Juv. 1, 89 sq.; 11, 26; cf. id. 10, 25; 14, 259 Ruperti, and Cat. 13, 8; Varr. L. L. 5, § 182 Müll.: populus me sibilat: at mihi plaudo Ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arcā, Hor. S. 1, 1, 67.—Hence, meton., like our purse, for the money in it: arcae nostrae confidito, rely upon my purse, Cic. Att. 1, 9; id. ad Q. Fr. 2, 12; id. Par. 6, 1; Cat. 23, 1; Col. 3, 3, 5; 8, 8, 9; Plin. Ep. 3, 19, 8; Sen. Ep. 26 fin.— Hence, ex arcā absolvere aliquem, to pay in cash upon the spot (opp. de mensae scripturā absolvere), Ter. Ad. 2, 4, 13 Don.; cf. id. Phorm. 5, 7, 29 Don., and arcarius.—And of public money, state treasure, revenues (late Lat.): frumentaria, Dig. 50, 4, 1, § 2: vinaria, Symm. Ep. 10, 42 al.—
2. A coffin (cf. Smith, Dict. Antiq.), Liv. 40, 29; cf. Plin. 13, 13, 27, § 85; Val. Max. 1, 1: cadavera Conservus vili portanda locabat in arcā, Hor. S. 1, 8, 9; Luc. 8, 736; Dig. 11, 7; Inscr. Orell. 3560; 4429.—
II. Transf. Of any thing in the form of a box or chest.
A. Noah's ark (eccl. Lat.), Vulg. Gen. 6, 14 sqq.; ib. Matt. 24, 38; ib. Heb. 11, 7 al.—
B. In Jewish antiq., the Ark of the Covenant (eccl. Lat.): arca foederis, Vulg. Deut. 10, 8: arca foederis Domini, ib. Num. 10, 33: arca testimonii, ib. Exod. 26, 34: arca testamenti, ib. Heb. 9, 4: arca testamenti Dei, ib. Jer. 3, 16: arca Domini, ib. Jos. 4, 4: arca Dei, ib. 1 Reg. 11, 17; and absol.: arca, ib. Exod. 30, 6; ib. Deut. 10, 5.—
C. A small, close prison, a cell: (Servi) in arcas coniciuntur, ne quis cum iis colloqui possit, Cic. Mil. 22 fin.; cf. Fest. p. 264 Müll. —
D. In mechanics, the water-box of a hydraulic machine, Vitr. 10, 13.—
E. A watercistern, a reservoir, Vitr. 6, 3.—
F. A quadrangular landmark; cf. Scriptt. Agrim. pp. 119, 222, 223, 271 Goes.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *arkā, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-eh₂ or from the Proto-Italic form *arkeō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-.

Elsewhere
  • Catalanarca
  • Italianarca
  • Portuguesearcafrom Old Galician-Portuguese arca
  • Spanisharcafrom Old Spanish arca
  • Englisharkfrom Old English ærc
  • Frencharchefrom Old French arche
  • Englisharchfrom Old French arche
  • Romanianarca
  • Galicianarcafrom Old Galician-Portuguese arca
  • Albanianarkë
Serbo-Croatian
  • Cyrillic scriptарка
  • Latin scriptarka

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesArcaArca (λάρναξ, κιβωτός, κυψέλη, in Homer χηλός), a chest or coffer. 1. Greek. In the Homeric poems, and probably far on into historic times, the armari…
proper noun · femininefirst declension
Arca2
Arca f sg (genitive Arcae)

Meaning

  1. femininesingulara town in Phoenicia situated between Tripolis and Antaradus

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeArca—
genitiveArcae—
dativeArcae—
accusativeArcam—
ablativeArcā—
vocativeArca—
locativeArcae—

Origins

From Ancient Greek Ἄρκη (Árkē), from or related to Akkadian 𒅕𒋡𒋫 (Irqata).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesArcaArca (λάρναξ, κιβωτός, κυψέλη, in Homer χηλός), a chest or coffer. 1. Greek. In the Homeric poems, and probably far on into historic times, the armari…GeographyArcaArca (Ἄρκη, Ἄρκαι, Steph. B. sub voce Ptol. 5.15: Arca, Plin. Nat. 5.16: Eth. Ἀρκαῖος, Eth. Arcenus: Arkite, Gen. 10.17; 1 Chron. 1.15: LXX. Ἀρουκαῖος…

Quick answers

What does arca mean in Latin?
arca, a noun, means “chest, box, coffer, safe (safe place for storing items, or anything of a similar shape); coffin (box for the dead); ark (kind of ship that holds things safe)”.
What is the genitive of arca?
The genitive singular is arcae. arca is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce arca?
In classical Latin, [ˈar.ka]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈar.ka].