Proto-Indo-European

h₂erǵ-₃

“to close, shut, confine”
Widely acceptedcontainmentsecrecy

Source of Latin arca, arcānus, English ark, arcane

Root for closing/confining, yielding Latin arca (chest) and English ark, arcane, coerce.

h₂erk-“to hold, contain, guard”h₂erk-mn̥-“an enclosure, contained space”h₂erk-tó-“held back, enclosed”

Last updated: 28 March 2026 · Generated by opus-4.6

*h₂erǵ-₃ "to close, shut, confine" — Proto-Indo-European