adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
arcānus
arcānus (feminine arcāna, neuter arcānum)
Classical[arˈkaː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[arˈkaː.nus]
Meaning
- adjectivehidden, secret, private, mysterious
- adjectiveintimate, personal, confidential
[...] Sōlam nam perfidus ille / tē colere, arcānōs etiam tibi crēdere sēnsūs; / sōla virī mollīs aditūs et tempora nōrās.
[Dido speaks to Anna:] “For that faithless [man] cherished you alone, even confided his intimate feelings to you, and only you have known how and when to gently approach him.”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.421–423 - adjectivetrustworthy (to keep a secret)
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Arcana · Secreta · Mysteria
Arcana denotes secrets, in a good sense, such as are so of themselves, and from their own nature, and should be spoken of with awe; thus arcana, as a popular term, denotes secrets of all sorts; on the other hand, mysteria, as a learned term, denotes religious secrets, like the Eleusinian mysteries; lastly, secreta denotes secrets, in the most ordinary sense, such as are made so by men, and which seek concealment from some particular fear. Tac. Ann. i. 6. Sallustius Crispus particeps secretorum . . . monuit Liviam, ne arcana domus vulgarentur. (iv. 429.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | arcānus | arcāna | arcānum |
| genitive | arcānī | arcānae | arcānī |
| dative | arcānō | arcānae | arcānō |
| accusative | arcānum | arcānam | arcānum |
| ablative | arcānō | arcānā | arcānō |
| vocative | arcāne | arcāna | arcānum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | arcānī | arcānae | arcāna |
| genitive | arcānōrum | arcānārum | arcānōrum |
| dative | arcānīs | arcānīs | arcānīs |
| accusative | arcānōs | arcānās | arcāna |
| ablative | arcānīs | arcānīs | arcānīs |
| vocative | arcānī | arcānae | arcāna |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- consiliis arcanis interesse (Liv. 35. 18)
- to be present at secret consultations.
arcānus, a, um, adj. v. arceo, orig.,
I. shut up, closed; hence, trop.,
I. That keeps a secret, trusty:
dixisti arcano satis, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 155: petiit, ut aliquem ex arcanis mitteret, Plin. 7, 52, 53, § 178.— Hence, poet., of the night: omina arcanā nocte petita, in silent night, or night that keeps secrets, Ov. H. 9, 40; Stat. S. 1, 3, 71.— II. Hidden, concealed, secret, private (class., although very rare in Cic.):
at quīcum joca, seria, ut dicitur, quīcum arcana, quīcum occulta omnia, Cic. Fin. 2, 26, 85: consilia, Liv. 35, 18; so Hor. C. 3, 21, 15: secretae et arcanae opes, Plin. Pan. 34, 3: fontis arcani aqua, Tac. A. 2, 54: libidines, Suet. Tib. 43 al.: littera celatos arcana fatebitur ignes, Ov. M. 9, 516: sensus, Verg. A. 4, 422 al.— Esp., in the lang. of religion, of things sacred and incommunicable: ARCANA VRBIS PRAESIDIA, Inscr. Orell. 2494: audivit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui, Vulg. 2 Cor. 12, 4; and of secret, mysterious usages: sacra, Ov. M. 10, 436: arcana cum fiunt sacra, Hor. Epod. 5, 52; so Stat. S. 3, 4, 92; Sil. 2, 427; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 402; and by poet. license transf. to the deity presiding over such mysteries: qui Cereris sacrum Volgavit arcanae, Hor. C. 3, 2, 27.—Hence, subst.: arcānum, i, n., a secret. A. In gen.:
nox arcanis fidissima, Ov. M. 7, 192: arcani Fides prodiga, Hor. C. 1, 18, 16: si quid umquam arcani sanctive ad silendum in curiā fuerit, Liv. 23, 22, 9: arcana regum, Curt. 4, 6, 5: revelare arcana, Vulg. Prov. 11, 13: denudare arcana amici, ib. Eccli. 27, 17.—B. Spec., a sacred secret, a mystery:
fatorum arcana, Ov. M. 2, 639; so Verg. A. 7, 123: Pythagorae arcana, Hor. Epod. 15, 21; cf.: Jovis arcana, the secret decrees of, id. C. 1, 28, 9: deorum arcanum proferre, Plin. Pan. 23, 5: arcana quaedam, secret rites (of the diviners), Vulg. Exod. 7, 11: violabunt arcanum meum, my secret place, sanctuary, Vulg. Ezech. 7, 22 et saep.—Adv.: arcā-nō (cf. Charis. pp. 173 and 179 P.), in secret, privately: arcano tibi ego hoc dico, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 117: hunc (librum) lege arcano convivis tuis, Cic. Att. 16, 3 (cf. Charis. l. c.): arcano cum paucis familiaribus suis colloquitur, Caes. B. C. 1, 19.— * Comp.: arcanius judicare aliquid de aliquā re, Col. 3, 2 fin.—Sup. not used.Arcānus, a, um, adj. Arcae,
I. of or pertaining to Arcœ hence, subst.
A. Arcāni, ōrum, m., the inhabitants of Arcœ, Inscr. Orell. 4007.—
B. Arcānum, i, n., a villa of Q. Cicero, in the neighborhood of Arcœ, Cic. Att. 5, 1; id. ad Q. Fr. 3, 1 al.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
arcānus adj.
arca, secret, trusty, silent: nox, O.—Hidden, close, secret, private, concealed: consilia, H.: Littera, O.: sensūs, V.: sacra, mysteries, H.—Poet., of Ceres, H. — As subst n., a secret, mystery: nox arcanis fidissima, O.: arcani Fides prodiga, H.: si quid arcani fuerit, L.: prodere, Iu.: fatorum arcana, V.: Iovis, secret decrees, H.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-der. Latin arca Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin arcānus From arca + -ānus. Cognates include arceō (“to defend”), arx (“fortress”), arcera (“ambulance”), Old Armenian արգել (argel, “obstacle”) and Ancient Greek ἀρκέω (arkéō).
Descendants
- Catalanarcà
- Englisharcane
- Germanarkan
- Italianarcano
- Portuguesearcano
- Romanianarcan
- Spanisharcano
- Galicianarcano
- Sicilianarcanu