Spanish Word of the Day Archive
Friday October 10, 2008
arena, noun:
sand; arena
La arena is a word with pleasant associations, relating as it does to beaches and the sea. What could be better than lying on a Caribbean beach?
mar azul, arrecifes de coral, playas de arena blanca, bosques de cocoteros
blue sea, coral reefs, beaches of white sand, groves of coconut trees
Spanish arena is in origin the same word as English arena. Both come from the Latin (h)arÄna, referring to the sand-strewn part of an amphitheatre, where for example gladiators fought. Spanish also has the meaning of sporting arena. From that comes the figurative meaning, as in:
la arena política
the political arena
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