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Bellingham, Washington, United States
A High Priestess of the Georgian and NROOGD traditions of Wicca, a longarm quilter and fabric + fiber lover / artist, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wordy Wednesday: Arcane

I noticed several of my friends are employing a device on their blogs called "wordless Wednesday" where they are featuring some lovely pictures to tell a story or share a moment.  I enjoy that but I also love to look up interesting words and see where they have come from and what they mean.
So I am starting a bit called "Wordy Wednesday" to tantalize your mind a little!

Today's word: Arcane
The definition of this word...
known or knowable only to the initiate : secret <arcane rites>; broadly: mysterious, obscure <arcane explanations>    Latin arcanus
First Known Use: 1547 +/-, the date of which leads me to think about the years of the alchemists and ceremonial magicians, who probably needed a word like this to discuss their exciting works. 
The Latin root arcanus apparently means hidden, private and concealed, and is related to the word ark, and earc, which leads to references to the ark of the covenant, large boxes, containers, guarding and places of refuge. 
I like learning these side meanings of old words used in our mystical lingo because it helps round out my knowledge of what exactly I am saying and why I'm saying it. 
Posted by Betsy at 9:55 AM
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 15, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    Thanks for sharing!
    The Arcani is the name given to the Spy Network of the Roman Empire. While somewhat Mythical, some also think there was an Intelligence Network maintained by Celts called the Aradni which merged to some extent in Britain as the Roman Empire fell.
    Also ARCHA is the Greek for Old or Begining-as in Archaeolgy though it also means OVER as in Architect (Jesus was a Tekton).
    R.A. Hull

    ReplyDelete
  2. BetsyJune 15, 2011 at 5:25 PM

    So cool, Roger, you can help me out here anytime!

    ReplyDelete

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