arcana
/ɑːˈkeɪnə
/plural noun [treated as singular or plural] (singular arcanum)
1Secrets or mysteries: the arcana of his profession...
- The first class, today at 9: 30, is Federal Jurisdiction, the law school course most known for mystery and arcana.
- So she's methodically built up a comfort level with national security issues, joining the Armed Services Committee and spending countless hours mastering military arcana.
- But anyone wanting to get a job as a graphic designer is probably claiming to be detail-oriented, aesthetically aware, obsessive about getting things perfect, and tuned to the arcana of graphic design.
2Either of the two groups of cards in a tarot pack: the twenty-two trumps (the major arcana) and the fifty-six suit cards (the minor arcana).Gresham organizes each chapter along the twenty-two minor arcana of the Tarot, a device used by later authors such as Robert Anton Wilson and Umberto Eco....
- It's a euphemism for the Tarot major arcana, based on the myth that the Egyptian god Thoth's wisdom was written down in the eponymous book, for magicians to discover.
- We've been through various mappings to the major arcana of the tarot.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin, neuter plural of arcanus (see arcane).
Rhymes
- put (or give or set) one's mind to
- put (or have) someone's ass in a sling
- put (or have) the wind up
- put (or lay) one's cards on the table
- put (or lay) one's head (or neck) on the block
- put (or lay) on jam
- put (or place) a premium on
- put (or place) someone on a pedestal
- put (or set) one's hand to the plough
- put (or set) one's house in order
- put (or set) pen to paper
- put (or set) someone right
- put (or set) something to rights
- put (or set) spurs to
- put (or set) the cat among the pigeons
- put (or set) the record straight
- put (or set) the seal on
- put (or stick) one's oar in
- put (or throw) someone off the scent
- put out
- put out to grass
- put (out) to sea
- put paid to
- put-put
- putrefacient