AREA A"re*a, n.; pl. Areas . Etym: [L. area a broad piece of level groAre, 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. 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.