arc

[ahrk] /ɑrk/
noun
1.
Geometry. any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.
2.
Also called electric arc. Electricity. a luminous bridge formed in a gap between two electrodes.
Compare spark1 (def 2).
3.
Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.
4.
anything bow-shaped.
verb (used without object), arced
[ahrkt] /ɑrkt/ (Show IPA) or arcked, arcing
[ahr-king] /ˈɑr kɪŋ/ (Show IPA) or arcking.
5.
to form an electric arc.
6.
to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English ark < Latin arcus bow, arch, curve
Can be confused
arc, ark.

ARC

[ahrk] /ɑrk/
noun
1.
Pathology, AIDS-related complex.

ARC

1.
American Red Cross.
Also, A.R.C.

Arc, d'

[dark] /dark/
noun
1.
Jeanne
[zhahn] /ʒɑn/ (Show IPA), Joan of Arc.
Examples from the web for arc
  • In one important way, however, my particular arc does suggest some advice.
  • What some pilot plants have shown so far, however, is that a lot of the electricity produced is needed to power the arc.
  • But when lines are strong enough to arc out, wildly conductive plasma follows.
  • arc levels are normally low in a cell but increase considerably when neuronal activity has taken place.
  • Of course there would only allow the selected priest to be the only to view the arc.
  • Its graceful high arc provides easy clearance for pot filling or cleaning large items.
  • Anticipate the backward jump by angling the swatter to arc over and then behind the fly.
  • Then came the rush of wind, a final, sorrowful arc of sound that only he could hear.
  • The arc heats the air surrounding it and causes that air to expand rapidly, producing a shock wave that is heard as thunder.
  • The length of that distant arc segment is simply proportional to its distance.
British Dictionary definitions for arc

arc

/ɑːk/
noun
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
verb arcs, arcing, arced, arcs, arcking, arcked
6.
(intransitive) 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
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin arcus bow, arch

ARC

abbreviation
1.
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
Word Origin and History for 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" (cf. 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.

v.

1893, in the electrical sense, from arc (n.). Meaning "to move in an arc" attested by 1954. Related: Arced; arcing.

arc in Medicine

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

ARC abbr.
AIDS-related complex

arc in Science
arc
  (ärk)   

  1. A segment of a circle.

  2. See electric arc.


arc in Technology


Advanced RISC Computing Specification


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)

Related Abbreviations for arc

arc

archive

ARC

  1. Addiction Research Center
  2. advance readers copy
  3. AIDS-related complex
  4. amateur radio club
  5. American Red Cross
  6. [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] Ames Research Center
  7. Appalachian Regional Commission