Land that is suitable for growing crops; farmland that can be plowed and cultivated.
From Latin arare (to plow), from an ancient Indo-European root meaning 'to till the earth.' The word entered English through Old French in the 12th century.
Arable land is literally 'plowable' land—the word itself comes from the Latin for 'plow,' so it's defined by what you can do to it, not what grows there!
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