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arena

 
Dictionary: a·re·na   (ə-rē') pronunciation
 
n.
    1. An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles.
    2. A building housing such an area
  1. A place or scene where forces contend or events unfold: withdrew from the political arena; the world as an arena of moral conflict.
  2. The area in the center of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and other spectacles were held.

[Latin harēna, arēna, 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 harēna (also spelled arēna), “sand.” Harēna 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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Thesaurus: arena
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noun

    A sphere of activity, experience, study, or interest: area, bailiwick, circle, department, domain, field, orbit, province, realm, scene, subject, terrain, territory, world. Slang bag. See territory.

 
Hacker Slang: arena
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[common; Unix] The area of memory attached to a process by brk(2) and sbrk(2) and used by malloc(3) as dynamic storage. So named from a malloc: corrupt arena message emitted when some early versions detected an impossible value in the free block list. See overrun screw, aliasing bug, memory leak, memory smash, smash the stack.


 
Architecture: arena
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1. An acting space of any shape surrounded by seats.
2. A type of theater not having a proscenium, the spectators” seats, rising in tiers, wholly surrounding the stage.
3. The sanded central area in a Roman amphitheater or circus, surrounded by the seats.
4. Any building, indoor or outdoor, for sports events, etc.


 

Arena (Spring 1963-Spring 1965), a literary magazine published in Wexford and edited by Michael Hartnett, James Liddy, and Liam O'Connor.

 
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce


n.

In politics, an imaginary rat-pit in which the statesman wrestles with his record.


 
Word Tutor: arena
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: An open area for games; a stadium.

pronunciation The ballgame was held in a large arena.

 
Wikipedia: Arena
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Tallahassee Civic Center is home to the FSU Seminoles.
Exterior view of United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing for maximum visibility. Usually, an arena is designed to accommodate a fairly large number of spectators.

The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl, but such a facility is typically called a stadium. The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football is typically played in a stadium while basketball and hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of the larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. And there are exceptions. The home of the Duke University basketball team would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such a location — often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event, such as "the arena of war" or "the arena of love" or "the political arena". In many fighting games, the stage that opponents are fought in is also called an arena.

The Latin word arena means "sand", which was useful as the primary surface where gladiators battled, to absorb the blood. In Spanish, the word carries both meanings. A bullfight is held in an arena (or plaza de toros, literally "circus/square of bulls") and its floor is also covered with arena (specifically albero).


See also


 
Translations: Arena
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - arena, skueplads, kampplads

Nederlands (Dutch)
arena, toneel (figuurlijk), ring

Français (French)
n. - arène, stade, (fig) arène

Deutsch (German)
n. - Arena, Bühne, Schauplatz

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αρένα, παλαίστρα, κονίστρα, στίβος, σφαίρα ή πεδίο δραστηριότητας ή σύγκρουσης

Italiano (Italian)
arena, stadio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - arena (f), local de disputa (fig.)

Русский (Russian)
арена, поле сражения, спортивное поле

Español (Spanish)
n. - campo, esfera, arena, ruedo, redondel

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - arena

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
竞技场, 舞台, 活动场所

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 競技場, 舞臺, 活動場所

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 투기장, 시합장, 활동의 장소

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 闘技場, 舞台, 競争場裡, 円形闘技場, 競技場

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حلبه, ميدان تنافس, الجز المتوسط من مدرج روماني‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮זירה, מעגל פעולה או דיון‬


 
 
Learn More
theater-in-the-round
leaky heap (computer jargon)
bullring

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