• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “arena” come from and What does arena mean in Latin?

Where does the word “arena” come from and What does arena mean in Latin?

March 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

Thanks to the fact that the citizens of ancient Rome liked to see gory contests, gladiators fighting one another to the death, starved wild animals turned loose upon human victims, the ground of the amphitheaters was always liberally covered with sand to soak up spilled blood.

And the Latin word for sand is arena.

Nowadays an “arena” may never know blood, it may never see sand; it merely denotes a scene of contest, physical, mental, or even figurative.

Related Facts

  • Where does the word "arena" come from and what does it mean in Latin?
  • Where does the word "arena" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "Dog Latin" come from and What does Dog Latin mean?
  • Why Is a Sports Arena Called a Stadium?
  • How Wide Is the United States In Miles From Point Arena, California To West Quoddy Head, Maine?
  • What Is the Difference Between Latin America and South America and How Many People Live In Latin America?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “turtledove” come from and How did the turtle get its name?
Next Post: How did the Starling get its name and Where does the word “Starling” come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy