ARC • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Arc

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/ɑrk/ Listen

noun

Arc n.

(Geom.) A portion of a curved line; as, the arc of a circle or of an ellipse.

A curvature in the shape of a circular arc or an arch; as, the colored arc (the rainbow); the arc of Hadley's quadrant.

An arch. (Obs.) "Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs."

The apparent arc described, above or below the horizon, by the sun or other celestial body. The diurnal arc is described during the daytime, the nocturnal arc during the night.

Electric arc, Voltaic arc. See under Voltaic.

verb

Arc v. i. (past & past part. arcked; pres. part. arcking) (Elec.) To form a voltaic arc, as an electrical current in a broken or disconnected circuit.

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Etymology of 'Arc'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Arc" Quotes from Famous Books

... As the beam touched it, the steel disappeared in one flare of radiance—as he swung the projector in one flashing arc from the stem to the stern there was nothing left. Loring, swinging the ...

— Skylark Three • Edward Elmer Smith

... dance quadrilles, With four well-seasoned sailors— And Raleigh talks of rail-road bills, With Timon, prince of railers. I find Sir Charles of Aubyn Park Equipp'd for a walk to Mecca— And I run away from Joan of Arc, To romp ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 12, - Issue 345, December 6, 1828 • Various

... the miners returned his salutation in true western fashion: every man in the place, save Rance, taking off his hat and sweeping it before him in an arc as they ...

— The Girl of the Golden West • David Belasco

... years. Strange problem of the human mind. While he here composed his Mahomet and other serious works, he also wrote his scandalous Pucelle; as if he could not rest without destroying all nobility of sentiment and faith in heroism. While Jeanne d'Arc is the helpless victim of his shameless attack, he is also busy with his Siecle de Louis XIV, a hero apparently more to his taste than the great Maid ...

— The Great Events by Famous Historians, v. 13 • Various

... back on the game, the Epeira works all her spinnerets, pierced like the rose of a watering-pot, at one and the same time. The silky spray is gathered by the hind-legs, which are longer than the others and open into a wide arc to allow the stream to spread. Thanks to this artifice, the Epeira this time obtains not a thread, but an iridescent sheet, a sort of clouded fan wherein the component threads are kept almost separate. The ...

— The Life of the Spider • J. Henri Fabre

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