§ 19. arctic / Arctic. 7. Pronunciation Challenges. The American Heritage Book of English Usage. 1996

The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.

A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.

7. Pronunciation Challenges: Confusions and Controversy

§ 19. arctic / Arctic

Arctic was originally spelled in English without the first c, which was later reintroduced after the original spelling in Greek. Both (ärk´tk) and (är´tk) are equally acceptable pronunciations.	1
More at Antarctic.	2