View synonyms for arboreal

arboreal

[ ahr-bawr-ee-uhl, -bohr- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

of or relating to trees; treelike.
Also . living in or among trees.
Zoology. adapted for living and moving about in trees, as the limbs and skeleton of opossums, squirrels, monkeys, and apes.

arboreal

/ ɑːˈbɔːrɪəl /

arboreal

/ är-bôr′ē-əl /

First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin arbore(us) “of trees,” equivalent to arbor “tree” + -eus- -eous + -al ¹

Yet it is doubtful if the man-ape long remained a specially arboreal animal.

The organization of man renders it questionable if his primeval ancestor was arboreal to any similar extent.

Arboreal life could teach them little more; continuance in that school would have meant a very comfortable stagnation.

Our ancestors became at home in and well adapted to arboreal life, but the adaptation was never extreme.

Arboreal life was an excellent preparatory training toward human development.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse