Etymologically
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area

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 01:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈeə.ri.ə/, US /ˈer.i.ə/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ārea (“level ground, open space; threshing floor”),[2][3][4] a word of uncertain origin.[2][3] It is often connected with ārēre (“to be dry”), as a bare space dried or cleared by burning, or a place for drying grain,[2][5][6] but Barnhart says this derivation is not generally accepted.[3] The metric unit are comes from the same Latin word through French.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vacant piece of ground, or one set aside for a particular purpose: 1538.[3][2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Latin the word was used of building sites, playgrounds and threshing floors.[2] In English the general sense “any extent of surface within set limits” followed in the 1560s,[2] an enclosed court in the 17th century,[9] a region with vague boundaries in 1671,[10] and a field of study or activity later still.[11] The North American telephone area code is recorded from 1959.[2]

Timeline

  • 1538 – a vacant piece of ground.[3][12]
  • 1560s – any extent of surface.[2]
  • 17th century – an enclosed court.[9]
  • 1671 – a region.[10]
  • 1959 – area code.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A part of a surface or of the earth; a region.
  2. An open, unoccupied piece of ground.
  3. A part of a building or place set aside for a purpose: a dining area.
  4. A field of knowledge or activity.
  5. A sunken space beside a building, giving access to a basement.
  6. (mathematics) The extent of a flat surface or figure.

Word family

  • areal
  • areally
  • areaway
  • equal-area
  • subarea
  • area code
  • area rug
  • Broca's area
  • arid
  • ardent
  • are
  • areola

Usage notes

The AHD notes that area and region are the most general words for an extent of space; a zone is marked off by some feature, a district by administration, and a locality is a place in relation to its surroundings.[11]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  12. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster