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Nearby words
Origin of area
1530–40; < Latin ārea vacant piece of level ground, open space in a town, threshing floor; perhaps akin to ārēre to be dry. See arid
Related formsar·e·al, adjectivear·e·al·ly, adverb
Can be confusedarea aria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for area
British Dictionary definitions for area
area
/ (ˈɛərɪə) /
noun
Derived Formsareal, adjective
Word Origin for area
C16: from Latin: level ground, open space, threshing-floor; related to ārēre to be dry
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
Word Origin and History for area
area
1530s, "vacant piece of ground," from Latin area "level ground, open space," used of building sites, playgrounds, threshing floors, etc.; of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to arere "to become dry," on notion of a burned clearing or dry, bare space. The generic sense of "amount of surface (whether open or not) contained within any set of limits" is from 1845. Area code in North American telephone systems is attested from 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for area
area
[ âr′ē-ə ]
n. pl. ar•e•as
A circumscribed surface or space.
All of a part that is supplied by a given artery or nerve.
A part of an organ having a special function.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for area
area
[ âr′ē-ə ]
The extent of a surface or plane figure as measured in square units.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with area
area
see gray area.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.