arable
AIR-uh-bul
/ˈær.ə.bəl/
Suitable for plowing and growing crops; capable of producing agricultural harvest.
Refers specifically to soil or land that can be plowed and farmed, as opposed to rocky, arid, or forested land.
The story behind the word. Borrowed through Old French from Latin 'arabilis', which stems directly from 'arare' (to plow). The root traces back thousands of years to Proto-Indo-European arə-, the ancient word for breaking land with a wooden plow.
Word relationships
- fertile: Fertile means rich in nutrients; land can be fertile but not arable if it is too steep or rocky to plow.
- tillable: Tillable is a direct synonym, though 'arable' is more common in formal academic and geographical texts.
- barren: Incapable of producing vegetation or supporting crops.
- infertile: Lacking the essential nutrients required for crop growth.
Commonly confused with
- arid: 'Arable' means plowable/farmable; 'arid' means extremely dry and lacking rainfall.
Word family
- arability (noun): The state or degree of being arable.
Collocations
- arable land
- arable soil
- arable farming
- arable acres
Example sentences
- "Only a small percentage of the planet's land surface consists of highly fertile, arable soil." Global geography
- "Loss of arable land to urban sprawl poses a grave challenge to regional food security." Agricultural economics
Memory hook
ARABLE sounds like 'ABLE to FARM' or 'plow-ABLE'. ARABLE = Able to be plowed for crops.
When not to use
Do not use to describe land meant strictly for livestock grazing (pasture).
Fun facts
- Less than 11% of the total land area on Earth is considered arable land.
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