arc
pronunciation
How to pronounce arc in British English:
UK [ɑːk]
How to pronounce arc in American English:
US [ɑːrk]
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- Noun:
- electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field
- a continuous portion of a circle
- something curved in shape
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- Verb:
- form an arch or curve
Word Origin
- arc
- arc: see arch
- arc (n.)
- late 14c., originally in reference to the sun's apparent motion in the sky, from Old French arc "bow, arch, vault" (12c.), from Latin arcus "a bow, arch," from PIE root *arku- "bowed, curved" (cognates: Gothic arhvazna "arrow," Old English earh, Old Norse ör; also, via notion of "supple, flexible," Greek arkeuthos, Latvian ercis "juniper," Russian rakita, Czech rokyta, Serbo-Croatian rakita "brittle willow"). Electrical sense is from 1821.
- arc (v.)
- 1893, in the electrical sense, from arc (n.). Meaning "to move in an arc" attested by 1954. Related: Arced; arcing.
Example
- 1. The milky way is visible as an arc in the center .
- 2. The arc is not a rainbow and has nothing to do with fire .
- 3. Note that the tiangong-1 satellite appears as an arc perpendicular to the star trails above the lighthouse .
- 4. In the book , he gives several examples of how the eight-point arc applies to various stories .
- 5. For this columnist flying the free , prosperous arc from tokyo to delhi means an 18-hour schlepp via hong kong and bangkok .