ark [OE] Ærc was the Old English word for a chest, from Latin arca ‘a chest or box’. This developed into ark, as in the Ark of the Covenant, the wooden chest in which the tablets of the laws of the ancient Israelites were kept, and the Holy Ark in a synagogue, a chest, or cupboard which contained the scrolls of the Torah or Hebrew scriptures. A ship may be thought of as a floating container, hence Noah’s Ark [OE], the vessel built by Noah to escape the Flood. The Latin word is also the source of arcane [M16th], which describes something hidden, concealed, or secret, as if it were shut up in a box.