Part 349

Ar"du*ous (?; 135), a. [L. arduus steep, high; akin to Ir. ard high, height.] 1. Steep and lofty, in a literal sense; hard to climb.

Those arduous paths they trod. Pope.

2. Attended with great labor, like the ascending of acclivities; difficult; laborious; as, an arduous employment, task, or enterprise.

Syn. -- Difficult; trying; laborious; painful; exhausting. -- Arduous, Hard, Difficult. Hard is simpler, blunter, and more general in sense than difficult; as, a hard duty to perform, hard work, a hard task, one which requires much bodily effort and perseverance to do. Difficult commonly implies more skill and sagacity than hard, as when there is disproportion between the means and the end. A work may be hard but not difficult. We call a thing arduous when it requires strenuous and persevering exertion, like that of one who is climbing a precipice; as, an arduous task, an arduous duty. "It is often difficult to control our feelings; it is still harder to subdue our will; but it is an arduous undertaking to control the unruly and contending will of others."

Ar"du*ous*ly, adv. In an arduous manner; with difficulty or laboriousness.

Ar"du*ous*ness, n. The quality of being arduous; difficulty of execution.

Ar"du*rous (&?;), a. Burning; ardent. [R.]

Lo! further on, Where flames the arduous Spirit of Isidore. Cary.

Are (&?;). [AS. (Northumbrian) aron, akin to the 1st pers. pl. forms, Icel. erum, Goth. sijum, L. sumus, Gr. &?;, Skr. smas; all from a root as. &?; See Am and Is, and cf. Be.] The present indicative plural of the substantive verb to be; but etymologically a different word from be, or was. Am, art, are, and is, all come from the root as.

Are (&?;), n. [F., fr. L. area. See Area.] (Metric system) The unit of superficial measure, being a square of which each side is ten meters in length; 100 square meters, or about 119.6 square yards.

A"re*a ("r*; 277), n.; pl. Areas (-z) . [L. area a broad piece of level ground. Cf. Are, n.] 1. Any plane surface, as of the floor of a room or church, or of the ground within an inclosure; an open space in a building.

The Alban lake . . . looks like the area of some vast amphitheater. Addison.

2. The inclosed space on which a building stands.

3. The sunken space or court, giving ingress and affording light to the basement of a building.

4. An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a region; as, vast uncultivated areas.

5. (Geom.) The superficial contents of any figure; the surface included within any given lines; superficial extent; as, the area of a square or a triangle.

6. (Biol.) A spot or small marked space; as, the germinative area.

7. Extent; scope; range; as, a wide area of thought.

The largest area of human history and man's common nature. F. Harrison.

Dry area. See under Dry.

{ A*read", A*reed" } (&?;), v. t. [OE. areden, AS. rdan to interpret. See Read.] 1. To tell, declare, explain, or interpret; to divine; to guess; as, to aread a riddle or a dream. [Obs.]

Therefore more plain aread this doubtful case. Spenser.

2. To read. [Obs.] Drayton.

3. To counsel, advise, warn, or direct.

But mark what I aread thee now. Avaunt! Milton.

4. To decree; to adjudge. [Archaic] Ld. Lytton.

A"re*al (&?;), a. [Cf. L. arealis, fr. area.] Of or pertaining to an area; as, areal interstices (the areas or spaces inclosed by the reticulate vessels of leaves).

A*rear" (&?;), v. t. & i. [AS. rran. See Rear.] To raise; to set up; to stir up. [Obs.]