arable
A-ruh-bul
/ˈær.ə.bəl/
land suitable for growing crops.
Specifically refers to land that can be plowed and used for annual crops like wheat, as opposed to pasture or forest.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'arabilis', which comes from 'arare' (to plow). It is a linguistic cousin to the Old English word 'ear', which was once a verb meaning 'to plow the earth'.
Word relationships
- cultivable: A more general term for land that can be farmed, whereas arable specifically implies plowing.
- fertile: Refers to the richness of the soil, not necessarily the physical ease of plowing it.
- barren: Land that is completely unproductive and cannot support life.
- unproductive: Land that does not produce a significant amount of crops.
Commonly confused with
- fertile: Arable means you can plow it; fertile means things will grow well in it.
Word family
- arability (noun): the state of being suitable for plowing
Collocations
- arable land
- arable farming
- arable crops
Example sentences
- "The total area of arable land in the world is approximately 1.4 billion hectares." Global statistics
- "Much of the rocky terrain was not arable, forcing the settlers to rely on fishing." Regional geography
Memory hook
'Arable' sounds like 'able' to be 'arated' (aerated) by a plow. Able to be plowed.
When not to use
Do not use for land that is only suitable for grazing animals (that is 'pastoral' land).
Fun facts
- Only about 11% of the world's land surface is considered truly arable.
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