arboreal

[ ahr-bawr-ee-uh l, -bohr- ]

/ ɑrˈbɔr i əl, -ˈboʊr- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR arboreal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to trees; treelike.

Also arboreous. living in or among trees.

Zoology. adapted for living and moving about in trees, as the limbs and skeleton of opossums, squirrels, monkeys, and apes.

Words nearby arboreal

arblay, d', arbor, arbor day, arbor vitae, arboraceous, arboreal, arbored, arboreous, arborescent, arboretum, arboriculture

Origin of arboreal

1660–70; < Latin arbore(us) of trees (arbor tree + -eus -eous) + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM arboreal

ar·bo·re·al·ly, adverbsub·ar·bo·re·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for arboreal

The known part of the route from an arboreal ancestor with a swim bladder to an urban descendant with a cigarette.
The Devil's Dictionary|Ambrose Bierce
The passenger generally leaned forward in a position strongly suggestive of the favorite attitude of his arboreal ancestors.
The Arena|Various
Up into the trees we went, and on and on, swinging our arboreal flight until we had put miles between us and the caves.
Before Adam|Jack London
An arboreal animal which makes itself at home in genealogical trees.
The Devil's Dictionary|Ambrose Bierce

Some of these birds, says Chapman, are arboreal, others are strictly terrestrial.
Birds Illustrated by Color Photography [January, 1898]|Various

British Dictionary definitions for arboreal

arboreal

/ (ɑːˈbɔːrɪəl) /

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a tree

living in or among treesarboreal monkeys

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for arboreal

arboreal

[ är-bôr′ē-əl ]

Relating to or living in trees.