arboretum

[ahr-buh-ree-tuhm]

noun

plural

arboretums, arboreta 

1. a plot of land on which many different trees or shrubs are grown for study or display.

arboretum

/ ˌɑːbəˈriːtəm /

noun

1. a place where trees or shrubs are cultivated for their scientific or educational interest

Word History and Origins

Origin of arboretum¹

1830–40; < Latin arborētum a plantation of trees, equivalent to arbor tree + -ētum suffix denoting place where a given plant grows ( alameda )

Word History and Origins

Origin of arboretum¹

C19: from Latin, from arbor tree

Example Sentences

When Daisy was a pup, Koerner began planting dozens of native plants near the Aleppo pines and fig trees, creating what he called their campground arboretum.

From Los Angeles Times

Bombaa also complains about how ordinary Nairobians, often scrabbling to make a living, have to pay to enter some of their city’s most beautiful locations such as the arboretum or Karura forest.

From BBC

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, are working to conserve trees across the world by collecting seeds and growing specimens in arboretums.

From BBC

Peterson tasted his first pawpaw, from a wild growing tree, in his university's arboretum as a graduate student studying plant genetics.

From Salon

Seattle Parks and Recreation doesn’t have funds now to develop its 22-acre “North Entrance Project” where the ruins meet the arboretum.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• acreage 
• estate 
• field 
• garden 
• grassland 
• homestead 
• lawn 
• meadow 
• nursery 
• orchard 
• pasture 
• plantation 
• ranch