área

See also: area, àrea, arẽa, and äreä

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ārea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɾea/ [ˈa.ɾe.a]
• Rhymes: -aɾea
• Hyphenation: á‧re‧a

Noun

área f (plural árees)

1. area

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ārea. Doublet of the inherited eira.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɾea/ [ˈa.ɾe.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -aɾea
• Hyphenation: á‧re‧a

Noun

área f (plural áreas)

1. area, extent of surface

See also

• area

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• area (pre-reform spelling)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ārea. Doublet of eira (“threshing floor”), which was inherited.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɾe.ɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɾe.ɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɾe.a/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɾjɐ/

• Homophone: ária (Portugal)
• Hyphenation: á‧re‧a

Noun

área f (plural áreas)

1. area; region; place (a geographical location)

   Synonyms: lugar, região, local, localidade, zona

   A igreja fica naquela área.

   The church is in that area.

2. area; region; place (an extent of surface)

   Synonyms: lugar, região, local

   Ele tem espinhas nessa área do rosto.

   He has pimples in this area of his face.

3. area; field (related things and concepts)

   Synonym: campo

   Minha mãe trabalha na área da educação.

   My mother works in the field of education.

4. (geometry) area (measure of two-dimensional extent)

   Calcule a área do triângulo.

   Calculate the area of the triangle

5. (soccer) area; penalty area (square in front of the goal)

   Synonym: grande área

6. court (open, enclosed space in a building or compound)

Derived terms

• área ativa
• área ciclonal
• área crítica
• área de afundamento
• área de construção
• área de livre comércio
• área de ocupação
• área de serviço
• área de subsidência
• área de trabalho
• área de transferência
• área focal
• área útil
• areal
• areazinha (diminutive)
• grande área
• pequena área

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin area. Compare the inherited doublet era (“threshing floor”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɾea/ [ˈa.ɾe.a]
  • Rhymes: -aɾea
• IPA^(key): (colloquial) /ˈaɾja/ [ˈa.ɾja]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Syllabification: á‧re‧a

Noun

área f (plural áreas)

1. area (a particular geographic region)

   Synonyms: zona, sector, localidad, región

2. are (SI unit of area equal to 100 square metres)
3. area, field (the extent, scope, or range of an object or concept)

   Synonyms: campo, ámbito, esfera

   No es totalmente incorrecta. Es más una área gris moralmente.

   It's not flat-out wrong. It's more of a gray area morally.

4. (mathematics) area (a measure of the extent of a surface)

Usage notes

• Before feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like área, the singular definite article takes the form of el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el área. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al área, del área.

This also applies to the indefinite article, which takes the form of un, which is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una also occurs): un área or una área. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) are used: la mejor área, una buena área.

• In these cases, el and un are not masculine but feminine, deriving from Latin illa and una, respectively, even though they are identical in form to the corresponding masculine singular articles. Thus, they are allomorphs of the feminine singular articles la and una.
• The use of these allomorphs does not change the gender agreement of the adjectives modifying the feminine noun: el área única, un(a) área buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.

Derived terms

• área de descanso
• área de servicio
• área metropolitana
• área verde

Further reading

• “área”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10