Oh my word Arc, Ark, Arch

Greece was a preparation for Egypt: Alexandria at sunset, a wide shining arc in the winter seal beyond the backwaters, a glimpse through fine rain of the ex-king’s white yacht; the ship’s engine cut off; then abruptly, as at a signal, a roar from the quay, shouting and quarrelling and jabbering from men in grubby jibbahs who in an instant overran the already crowded ship and kept on running through it.” –An Area of Darkness by V S Naipaul

Arc is a noun; the plural form is arcs. Arc means a curve; the shape of crescent, half moon; in geometry, arc is a continuous part of a circle, a circular arc; in astronomy, arc refers to part of circle a heavenly body passes through; a swoop, a segment of a circle

The temple towns of Kalahastri, Kanipakkam and Tirupati are the arc towns of of Shiva, Ganesh and Balaji in Andhra Pradesh. Arc de Triomphe is a war monument in France. Arc-boutant is an architectural feature: flying buttress. Ark means a boat especially the one which is large and can accommodate lot of things; a shelter or a place for refuge because it offers safety, shelter, haven; a box with a lid, a sacred container (Judaism)

Have you heard of Noah’s Ark? A ship built by Noah to save himself, his family, and animals from the Flood or the deluge. Ark of the Covenant is the chest (container/box/coffer) containing the Ten Commandments carved on stone tablets. Holy Ark is a chest or cabinet where scrolls of the Torah are kept in a synagogue by Jews.

Ark shell is a marine bivalve mollusc or clam. Arch is a shape: an inverted U shaped structure found in the doorways of houses, or verandahs; arch distributes the downward force outward. Arch also means an arc: part of a curve but this usage is archaic. Arches verandahs are not uncommon in Mughal and colonial architecture.

Arch also functions as a verb indicating to form the shape of an arch, or cover something with an arch. Its variants are arches, arched, arching. Yoga practitioners can arch their bodies into different shapes. Who is your archrival? Archrival means the primary or principal enemy. Arch as an adjective means clever, and mischievous; principal or key; its superlative forms are archer and archest. But Archer also means a person skilled in using bow and arrows.

The overarching idea of social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is to communicate with one another, and also with others.

Kovuuri G Reddy