Etymograph

English

arcus

Arcus comes from Latin arcus ‘arc, arch’, from Proto-Italic *arkuos ‘bow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷos1‘bow, arrow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkuos1‘bow’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcus2‘arc, arch’
  4. Englishtodayarcus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin arcus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English arcus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂erkʷosWiktionary, Latin arcus‘bow, arrow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*arkuosWiktionary, Latin arcus‘bow’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarcusWiktionary, English arcus‘arc, arch’
  4. EnglishtodayarcusWiktionary, English arcus

The story

Distantly related to arrow.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷos ‘bow, arrow’

archery, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *arkuos ‘bow’

archer, 8 more

through Latin arcus ‘arc, arch’

arc, arch, arcade, arson, arco, arcuate, 11 more

Today it means

noun A white band of cholesterol that forms at the edge of the cornea

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “arcus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin arcus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷos / arcus

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