WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : A"re*a
Part of Speech : n.; pl. Areas .
Etymology : [L. area a broad piece of level groAre, n.]
Definition : 1. Any plane surface, as of the floor of a room or church, or of the ground within an inclosure; an open space in a building. The Alban lake . . . looks like the area of some vast amphitheater. Addison.

2. The inclosed space on which a building stands.

3. The sunken space or court, giving ingress and affording light to the basement of a building.

4. An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a region; as, vast uncultivated areas.

5. (Geom.)

Defn: The superficial contents of any figure; the surface included within any given lines; superficial extent; as, the area of a square or a triangle.

6. (Biol.)

Defn: A spot or small marked space; as, the germinative area.

7. Extent; scope; range; as, a wide area of thought. The largest area of human history and man's common nature. F. Harrison. Dry area. See under Dry.


Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913