Word of the day: Arable

Arable

[ER-ə-bəl]

Part of speech: adjective

Origin: Middle French, 15th century

1.(Of land) Used or suitable for growing crops.

2.(Of crops) Able to be grown on suitable land.

Examples of arable in a sentence

"The land at the back of the house is arable and ready for crops to be planted."

"This county has twice as much arable land as its neighbors, which is why we have so many farms."

About Arable

From the French “arable,” this word is based on the Latin “arābilis,” meaning “capable of being plowed.”

Did you Know?

The amount of arable land — land suitable for growing crops — around the world has been growing slowly over the past 50 years. As of 2019, the World Bank reported that 10.8% of the world’s land area was arable, up from 10% in 1972. Thirty years ago, the percentage of arable land around the world was 10.6% — meaning the world has gained only 0.2% of arable land area since that time, due to brief declines in the 1990s and 2000s caused partly by expanding cities and urban sprawl absorbing farmland.