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arenal

sandy area

noun ah-reh-NAHL Rare
Animals & Nature Geography

Origin: From arena (sand) + the collective suffix -al, denoting a place full of something.

Also means

sandpit

Usage Note

Arenal denotes a large expanse of sandy terrain — a sandy plain, a beach sandbank, or a sandy pit. It is masculine (el arenal) and forms its plural regularly as arenales. The suffix -al is productive in Spanish for place names (pinar = pine grove, cafetal = coffee plantation), a pattern worth recognising. El Arenal is also a famous bull-ring district in Seville.

Examples

"Caminaron por el arenal bajo el sol."

Natural Translation

They walked across the sandy plain under the sun.

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