Arura

Arura or aroura (Greek: ἄρουρα), is a Homeric Greek^[1] word with original meaning "arable land", derived from the verb ἀρόω (aroō), "plough".^[2] The word was also used generally for earth, land and father-land and in plural to describe corn-lands and fields.^[3] The term arura was also used to describe a measure of land in ancient Egypt (similar in manner to the acre), a square of 100 Egyptian cubits each way.^[4] This measures 2700m² or 2/3 of an acre.^[5] The oldest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek a-ro-u-ra, written in Linear B syllabic script, originally meant "plough".^[6]

Other uses

• Aruru is a surname of the Sumerian earth and fertility goddess Ninhursag.
• 'Arura, a Palestinian village in the northern "West Bank".

References

1. Iliad 11.68
2. ἀρόω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
3. ἄρουρα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
4. Herodotus, 2.168, on Perseus
5. "Household economics: Making ends meet" note 1.
6. Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages

External links

• The dictionary definition of arura at Wiktionary