noun · femininefirst declension
harēna
harēna f (genitive harēnae)
Classical[haˈreː.na]Ecclesiastical[aˈrɛː.na]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- sand
Near-synonym: glārea
Hī summō in flūctū pendent; hīs unda dēhīscēns
Some [sailors] hang on a wave crest; for others the sea is gaping [and] the sea-bed is revealed between the waves; the surge churns with sand. (The ablative plural “harenis” is often translated here as singular. The description of the sailors’ experiences in the storm exemplifies hyperbole.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.106–107 - poeticslime; mud
- metonymicallysandy desert or wastes
- metonymicallybeach; strand; coastland (at the seashore)
- metonymicallythe place of combat in the amphitheatre (strewn with sand): the arena
- metonymicallycombat in the amphitheatre
- metonymicallythe combatants in the arena
- figurativelymetonymicallythe arena (the realm in which a dispute unfolds)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
terra sicca et mollis lītorum; etiam pars īnfima amphitheātrī, ubi pugnātur.harēna -ae f — in Mille Verba, ch. Lūdī et Ōtium
minūta saxa lītorisarēna -ae (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 5
terra minūta lītorisharēna -ae (f) — in Epistulae, ch. 6
pulvis lītorisharēna -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 6, 10
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Sabulo · Harena · Sabura
Sabulo (from ψαφαρός, ψῆφος,) and in Pliny sabulum, denote sand, as a sort of light soil; harena, arena (from χεράς), as a dry stony soil, as small or pounded pebbles, in opp. to a fruitful soil; sabura, saburra, with especial reference to its use, as shipsand, ballast. (vi. 311.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | harēna | harēnae arēnae |
| genitive | harēnae arēnae | harēnārum arēnārum |
| dative | harēnae arēnae | harēnīs arēnīs |
| accusative | harēnam arēnam | harēnās arēnās |
| ablative | harēnā | harēnīs arēnīs |
| vocative | harēna | harēnae arēnae |
hărēna (better than ărēna, Bramb. s. v. Rib. Prol. Verg. p. 422, and
I. v. infra), ae, f. Sabin. fas-ena; from Sanscr. root bhas-, to shine, gleam, Corss. Ausspr. 1, 102.
I. Prop., sand (syn.:
sabulum, glarea, suburra): harenae tria genera, Plin. 36, 23, 54, § 175: magnus congestus harenae, Lucr. 6, 724; 726: litoris incurvi bibulam pavit aequor harenam, the thirsty sand of the curved shore, id. 2, 376; so, bibula harena, Verg. G. 1, 114 (Rib. and Forbig., but Conington arena): sicca, id. ib. 1, 389: sterilis, id. ib. 1, 70: mollis, Ov. M. 2, 577: opaci omnis harena Tagi, i. e. the gold it was believed to contain, Juv. 3, 55 (cf. Plin. 4, 21, 35, § 115): nivis more incidens, Sen. Q. N. 2, 30, 2.—Poet.: harena nigra, = limus, slime, mud, Verg. G. 4, 292.—Plur. (postAug.; its use is said by Gell. 19, 8, 3, to have been ridiculed by Cæsar as a verbi vitium): arenae carae, of the golden sands of Pactolus, Ov. M. 11, 88 Merk.: quem (delphina) postquam bibulis inlisit fluctus harenis, id. H. 18, 201: summae cauda verruntur arenae, id. M. 10, 701 Merk.; so id. ib. 2, 456; 865; 11, 231; 499; 15, 268; 279; Stat. S. 4, 3, 23 Queck; Col. 1 praef. 24; but harenae, Ov. Am. 2, 11, 47; Verg. G. 2, 106; 3, 350; Hor. C. 3, 4, 31 K. and H.: arenarum inculta vastitas, Sen. Q. N. 1 prol. 8; of the bottom of the sea: furit aestus harenis, Verg. A. 1, 107: aestu miscentur harenae, id. ib. 3, 557.—Prov. (b). Ex incomprehensibili pravitate arenae funis effici non potest, Col. 10 praef. § 4.—
(g). Arena sine calce, said by Caligula of Seneca, because his sentences seem like independent maxims, without connection, Suet. Cal. 53.—
(d). Of vast numbers:
sicut arena quae est in litore maris, Vulg. Judic. 7, 12; id. Gen. 22, 17.—II. Meton.
A. In gen., sand, sands, a sandy place:
ut cum urbis vendiderit, tum arenam aliquam emat, Cic. Agr. 2, 27, 71 B. and K.— B. Esp.
1. A sandy desert, waste (mostly post-Aug.):
cum super Libycas victor penderet arenas, Ov. M. 4, 617; Luc. 2, 417: nigras inter harenas, Prop. 4 (5), 6, 83. Memnonis effigies, disjectas inter et vix pervias arenas, Tac. A. 2, 61.—2. The shore of the sea, the beach, coast, strand:
cum mare permotum ventis ruit intus harenam, Lucr. 6, 726: litoream arenam sulcare, Ov. M. 15, 725: doque leves saltus udaeque inmittor arenae, id. ib. 3, 599: multaque perpessae (carinae) Phrygia potiuntur arena, id. ib. 12, 38: sub noctem potitur classis arena, id. ib. 13, 729.—So sing., Verg. A. 1, 540; 5, 34; 6, 316; 11, 626 al.—3. The place of combat in the amphitheatre (strewn with sand), the arena:
in amphitheatri arena, Suet. Ner. 53; id. Tit. 8: missus in arenam aper, id. Tib. 72; id. Aug. 43: comminus ursos figebat Numidas Albana nudus harena venator, Juv. 4, 100; 2, 144; 8, 206: juvenes in arenam luxuria projecit, Sen. Ep. 99, 13.—4. Transf.
(a). A combat in the amphitheatre:
in harenam se dare, Dig. 11, 4, 5 fin.: operas arenae promittere, Tac. A. 14, 14: in opera scaenae arenaeque edenda, Suet. Tib. 35: scaenae arenaeque devotus, id. Cal. 30.—(b). The combatants in the arena: cum et juris idem (i. e. testandi libertas) contingat harenae, the gladiators have the right, etc., Juv. 6, 217.—
5. Harena urens, volcanic fire, lava:
Aetna ingentem vim arenae urentis effudit, Sen. Q. N. 2, 30, 1.—III. Trop., the place of combat, scene or theatre of any contest (war, a single battle, a dispute, etc.):
civilis belli arena, Flor. 4, 2, 18; 4, 7, 6; cf. id. 3, 21, 1; Luc. 6, 63: in harena mea, hoc est apud centumviros, Plin. Ep. 6, 12, 2.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
harēna (arēna) ae, f
2 HAS-, sand : harenam fluctūs trahunt, S.: bibula, V.: sterilis, V.: omnis Tagi, i. e. the gold , Iu.: nigra, slime , V.: carae harenae, golden sands , O.: urentes, H.— Prov.: Quid harenae semina mandas? O.— Sand, sands, a sandy place : harenam aliquam emere.— Plur, sandy desert, waste : Libycae, O.: nigrae, Pr. — The shore, beach, coast, strand : hospitio prohibemur harenae, V.: potitur classis harenā, O.— A sanded place, ground marked off for combat, amphitheatre, arena : fulva, V.: Albana, Iu.: cum et iuris idem contingat harenae, i. e. to the gladiators , Iu.
Origins
From Old Latin hasēna, possibly from Etruscan; compare Sabine fasēna, Etruscan 𐌚𐌀𐌑𐌄𐌍𐌀 (faśena, “sand; ashes; human remains”). Otherwise, as De Vaan suggests, it might be from a verb suffixed with *-es-no-, but none fits and so the etymology is unknown.