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aras

altars; sake (in set phrase)

noun AH-rahs Rare
Grammar & Structure Particles

Origin: From Latin 'ara' (altar, sacrificial hearth).

Usage Note

Aras is the plural of ara (an altar or votive stone) but it almost never appears in isolation in modern Spanish. Its practical life is inside the prepositional phrase en aras de, meaning 'for the sake of' or 'in the interest of': en aras de la transparencia (in the interest of transparency). Outside that fixed expression the word belongs to archaic or highly literary registers. The gender is feminine: las aras.

Examples

"Cedieron en aras de llegar a un acuerdo."

Natural Translation

They yielded for the sake of reaching an agreement.

Literal Translation

They-yielded in altars-of reaching an agreement.

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