arboreal

[ ahr-bawr-ee-uhl, -bohr- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to trees; treelike.
2. Also . living in or among trees.
3. Zoology. adapted for living and moving about in trees, as the limbs and skeleton of opossums, squirrels, monkeys, and apes.

arboreal

/ ɑːˈbɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a tree
2. living in or among trees

   arboreal monkeys

arboreal

/ är-bôr′ē-əl /

1. Relating to or living in trees.

Other Words From

• ar·bore·al·ly adverb
• subar·bore·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of arboreal¹

First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin arbore(us) “of trees,” equivalent to arbor “tree” + -eus- -eous + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Recent surveys since the turn of the century have discovered a dozen new species of amphibians and lizards including a new type of glass frog and an arboreal iguana.

From Popular-Science

For many arboreal animals, “jumping between limbs is such a common thing, and yet we so frequently only study it in pieces,” Graham says, such as looking just at the launch but not the landing.

From Science News

Among the subjects are such arboreal details as “Birch Bark” and “Giant Sequoia Needles,” rendered at enlarged sizes, as well as tree stumps and downed trunks.

From Washington Post

The work didn’t have the romance and danger of trying to outflank an advancing inferno, but it provided the gratification of turning arboreal debris into tinder for—one hoped—less devastating fires.

From Outside Online

They are seeking help from lawmakers with limited power and developers who often have little incentive to preserve an arboreal landscape threatened by advancing blacktop.

From Washington Post

Yet it is doubtful if the man-ape long remained a specially arboreal animal.

From Project Gutenberg

The organization of man renders it questionable if his primeval ancestor was arboreal to any similar extent.

From Project Gutenberg

Arboreal life could teach them little more; continuance in that school would have meant a very comfortable stagnation.

From Project Gutenberg

Our ancestors became at home in and well adapted to arboreal life, but the adaptation was never extreme.

From Project Gutenberg

Arboreal life was an excellent preparatory training toward human development.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arborescent
• arborous