| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| arena |
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| SYLLABICATION: | a·re·na |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -r  n |
| NOUN: | 1a. An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles. b. A building housing such an area 2. A place or scene where forces contend or events unfold: withdrew from the political arena; the world as an arena of moral conflict. 3. The area in the center of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and other spectacles were held. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin harna, arna, sand, a sand-strewn place of combat in an amphitheater, perhaps of Etruscan origin. | | WORD HISTORY: | Fans watching contact sports such as boxing, hockey, or football in modern arenas might be struck by the connection between the word arena and the notion of gladiatorial combat. This word is from Latin harna (also spelled arna), “sand.” Harna then came to mean the part of a Roman amphitheater that was covered with sand to absorb the blood spilled by the combatants. Arena is first recorded in English during the 17th century, denoting this area of a Roman amphitheater.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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