| AR |
abbreviation of "Arkansas," a south central U.S. state between Mississippi and Oklahoma. |
| Arab |
a member of the Semitic people that originated in Arabia and now forms the dominant population in that and other Middle Eastern countries. [4 definitions] |
| arabesque |
a complex design of interlaced scrolls, foliage, and other fanciful shapes, or an ornamental object having such a design. [4 definitions] |
| Arabia |
a Southwest Asian peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. |
| Arabian |
of, pertaining to, originating in, or characteristic of Arabia or its desert climate. [4 definitions] |
| Arabian camel |
the single-humped camel native to the area from North Africa to India; dromedary. (Cf. Bactrian camel.) |
| Arabian Desert |
a very arid region occupying a large portion of the Arabian Peninsula and stretching into Jordan and Iraq. |
| Arabian Peninsula |
a peninsula in western Asia that lies between the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the northeast. The Indian Ocean borders the Arabian Peninsula on the southeast. Countries located on the peninsula include Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. |
| Arabian Sea |
an extension of the Indian Ocean between India and the Arabian Peninsula. |
| Arabic |
designating, pertaining to, or in the script used to write the Semitic language of the Arabs, or Persian, Urdu, and other languages. [3 definitions] |
| Arabic numeral |
any of the symbols for the numbers one through nine, including zero; 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. |
| arable |
of land, capable of yielding crops when cultivated. [2 definitions] |
| Arab League |
a confederation of nations sharing a common Arabic language and culture, formed in 1945 to promote economic, military, and political cooperation among its members, and now grown to a total of twenty-one. |
| Arab Republic of Egypt |
see "Egypt." |
| arachibutyrophobia |
the persistent fear of or intense distress caused by peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth. |
| arachidonic acid |
an unsaturated fatty acid that is an important component of the cell membrane and is considered an essential nutrient in the diet of most mammals, including humans. |
| arachnid |
an arthropod having four pairs of legs and belonging to the class that includes scorpions, ticks, and spiders. |
| arachnoid |
an arachnid. [5 definitions] |
| arachnophobia |
an irrational fear of spiders. |
| arak |
see "arrack." |
| Aral Sea |
formerly, a very large, single lake in Central Asia. Once one of the world's largest lakes, the Aral Sea has vastly diminished in volume of water and has divided into separate parts as a result of the diversion, for agricultural purposes, of the rivers that fed the lake. The southeastern part of the Aral Sea has become entirely dry. |