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arc

[ahrk]

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noun

Geometry. any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.

Also called electric arc. Electricity. a luminous bridge formed in a gap between two electrodes. Compare spark¹ (def. 2).

Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.

anything bow-shaped.

verb (used without object)

to form an electric arc.

to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.

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Arc is one of our favorite verbs.

So is absquatulate. Does it mean:

to flee; abscond:

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English ark < Latin arcus bow, arch, curve

Can be confused: arc, ark.

Example Sentences

The northern and western arc is now thickly freckled maize.

The blindness in the vicinity of the scintillating arc is usually more significant to me than any pain.

Scrivener allows me to better visualize the arc of of a long piece.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

Pathology. AIDS-related complex.

American Red Cross.

Also, A.R.C.

noun

Jeanne

[zhahn] . Joan of Arc.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To arc

Collins

World English Dictionary

arc (ɑːk)

—n
1.	something curved in shape
2.	part of an unbroken curved line
3.	a luminous discharge that occurs when an electric current flows between two electrodes or any other two surfaces separated by a small gap and a high potential difference
4.	astronomy a circular section of the apparent path of a celestial body
5.	maths a section of a curve, graph, or geometric figure

—vb , arcs, arcing, arced, arcs, arcking, arcked
6.	(intr) to form an arc

—*prefix*
7.	maths specifying an inverse trigonometric function: usually written arcsin, arctan, arcsec, etc, or sometimes sin^--1, tan^--1, sec^--1, etc

[C14: from Old French, from Latin arcus bow, arch]

ARC

—*abbreviation for*
	AIDS-related complex: an early condition in which a person infected with the AIDS virus may suffer from such mild symptoms as loss of weight, fever, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

arc

late 14c., from O.Fr. arc, from L. arcus "a bow, arch," from PIE base *arqu- "bowed, curved" (cf. Goth. arhvazna "arrow," O.E. earh, O.N. ör). Electrical sense is from 1821.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

arc (ärk)
n.
A curved line or segment of a circle.

ARC abbr.
AIDS-related complex

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

arc (ärk) Pronunciation Key

A segment of a circle.
See electric arc.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

ARC definition

Advanced RISC Computing Specification

arc definition

1. An old archive format for IBM PC. The format is now so obscure that it is only likely to be supported by jack-of-all-trades decompression programs such as WINZIP.
2. An edge in a tree. "branch" is a generally more common synonym.
(1998-12-29)

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

arc
archive

ARC