arena, areni-

1. An indoor or outdoor area, surrounded by seating for spectators: Shows or sports events take place in an arena.
2. The sand-covered center of an amphitheater in Ancient Rome: The gladiators entered the arena where the contests were held.

The Arena, More than a Place

The ancient Romans who watched the gladiators fighting to their deaths with swords and other weapons, or wild animals, killing and being killed, went to the amphitheaters for their "entertainment."

The ground couldn't soak up the quantities of blood spilled on it so the show producers covered the ground with absorbent arena (sand). The sand, or arena, became the name of the place for shows, then sports, etc.

Pertaining to sediment or sedimentary rock, composed primarily of very small particles of stones or minerals, or having a sandy texture or appearance.

A description of deposits that are composed of sand: sandy: Joan read that carrots, for example, thrive best in arenarious soil.

Susan loved the feeling of arenarious matter under her feet when walking on the beach.

To burrow, live in, or grow in san: There is a variety of organisms that arenicole in sand, including sand crabs, clams, and many crustaceans.

A worm-hole made originally in very tiny pieces of stone and kept intact or undamaged in a sandstone rock: In her book on paleontology, Rebecca read about arenicolites being a fossilized cylindrical burrow in a sandy sediment made by a crustacean, a worm, or a mollusk.

A reference to the growth and development of an organism in sandy areas: Ornamental grasses, yarrow, and sedum are arenicolous plants that thrive wonderfully in dry soil and sandy conditions.

Of or pertaining to sandstone: Arenilitic sedimentary rock is formed by consolidation and compaction and held together by a natural silica which is similar to cement.

A consolidated sand-texture of sedimentary rock, regardless of its composition: The arenite is formed from mineral substances that have been left by water, wind, or ice and have become pressed together over a period of time.

A reference to sand: Arenoid particles are like or similar to very small grains which are held together by something that resembles cement.