Origin: L. Area a broad piece of level gro. Cf. Are.
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. <geometry> 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. <biology> 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 Dry.