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ARENA

 - 4 dictionary results

a⋅re⋅na

  [uh-ree-nuh]
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–noun
1. the oval space in the center of a Roman amphitheater for gladiatorial combats or other performances.
2. a central stage, ring, area, or the like, used for sports or other forms of entertainment, surrounded by seats for spectators: a boxing arena; a circus arena.
3. a building housing an arena.
4. a field of conflict, activity, or endeavor: the arena of politics.
Origin:
1620–30; < L (h)arēna sand, sandy place, area sanded for combat
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·re·na   (ə-rē'nə)   
n.  

    1. An enclosed area for the presentation of sports events and spectacles.

    2. A building housing such an area

  2. A place or scene where forces contend or events unfold: withdrew from the political arena; the world as an arena of moral conflict.

  3. The area in the center of an ancient Roman amphitheater where contests and other spectacles were held.


[Latin harēna, arēna, sand, a sand-strewn place of combat in an amphitheater, perhaps of Etruscan origin.]
Word History: Fans watching contact sports such as boxing, hockey, or football in modern arenas might be struck by the connection between the word arena and the notion of gladiatorial combat. This word is from Latin harēna (also spelled arēna), "sand." Harēna then came to mean the part of a Roman amphitheater that was covered with sand to absorb the blood spilled by the combatants. Arena is first recorded in English during the 17th century, denoting this area of a Roman amphitheater.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

arena 
1627, "place of combat," from L. harena "place of combat," originally "sand, sandy place," perhaps from Etruscan. The central stages of Roman amphitheaters were strewn with sand to soak up the blood.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

arena programming
The area of memory attached to a Unix process by the brk and sbrk system calls and used by malloc as dynamic storage. So named from a "malloc: corrupt arena" message emitted when some early versions detected an impossible value in the free block list.
See overrun screw, aliasing bug, memory leak, memory smash, smash the stack.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-12-28)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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