Area (ār&euptack_;&adot_;; 277), n.; pl. Areas (-&adot_;z) . [L. area a broad piece of level ground. Cf. Are, n.] 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.
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The Alban lake . . . looks like the area of some vast amphitheater. Addison.
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2. The inclosed space on which a building stands.
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3. The sunken space or court, giving ingress and affording light to the basement of a building.
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4. An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a region; as, vast uncultivated areas.
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5. (Geom.) The superficial contents of any figure; the surface included within any given lines; superficial extent; as, the area of a square or a triangle.
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6. (Biol.) A spot or small marked space; as, the germinative area.
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7. Extent; scope; range; as, a wide area of thought.
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The largest area of human history and man's common nature. F. Harrison.
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Dry area. See under Dry.
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