Definition of AGRARIAN

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Adjective

Today, an acre is generally considered to be a unit of land measuring 43,560 square feet (4,047 square meters). Before that standard was set, it's believed that an acre represented a rougher measurement - the amount of land that could be plowed in one day with a yoke of oxen. Both acre and agrarian, derive from the Latin noun ager and the Greek noun agros, meaning "field." (You can probably guess that agriculture is another descendant.) Agrarian, first used in English in the 16th century, describes things pertaining to the cultivation of fields, as well as the farmers who cultivate them.

Examples of agrarian in a Sentence

Adjective a town founded in 1811 as an agrarian community

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The example of eastern Europe suggests that a recent agrarian past is another dog booster. — The Economist, "Lexington Impoochment," 21 Nov. 2019 Before the Middle Ages, Europe was similar to other agrarian societies around the world: Extended kin networks were the glue that held everything together. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "How the early Christian church gave birth to today’s WEIRD Europeans," 7 Nov. 2019 What is more worrisome is what will happen to the structure, a tangible piece of the town’s history, tied to its earliest agrarian roots. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, courant.com, "‘It’s sad, very, very sad.’ After 350 years in the family, Farmington’s Wadsworths auctioning off historic farmhouse," 1 Nov. 2019 The conservative agrarian Polish People’s Party, in alliance with an anti-establishment party led by a rock star, Kukiz 15, got nearly 9% and 30 seats in Sunday’s vote. — Vanessa Gera, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Polish conservatives win lower house but lose Senate," 14 Oct. 2019 This big push was crucial to the nation’s successful adaptation to the changing skill needs (and job opportunities) of the industrial economy -- which were quite different from those of the agrarian economy. — BostonGlobe.com, "Driven by automation and artificial intelligence, “the world now stands on the cusp of a technological revolution” that will “boost the wealth of nations,” The Task Force on the Work of the Future, which included more than 20 faculty drawn from 12 departments, said in its draft report.," 9 Oct. 2019 This could help to pull the agrarian economy out of the doldrums and generate employment for thousands of farmers. — Devangshu Datta, Quartz India, "Legalising cannabis could be one solution to India’s agrarian distress," 30 May 2019 Rena has covered a range of topics for National Geographic magazine, from documenting the agrarian cultures of Eastern Europe to portraying the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi in India. — National Geographic, "Rena Effendi," 10 Sep. 2019 At Wanted Design, Adrien Testard, a fashion design student at the Écol des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, exhibited his Hors-Champ collection of sustainable garments—a reflection on disappearing agrarian landscapes and cultures in France. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "How design is being upended by the climate crisis," 9 July 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Closing the forts frustrated foreclosure proceedings; moreover, for Shay’s enraged agrarians, the courts were a tangible symbol of the eastern moneyed interest and of a government unresponsive to their needs. — Thomas Wendel, National Review, "The Beginning of a Nation," 4 July 2019 Southern agrarians disdained capitalism; Peter Viereck spent his time lecturing Americans on the virtues of Metternich and that great homegrown Tory, FDR. — Richard Brookhiser, National Review, "Moving Portrait," 4 June 2019 There are the populares of Ancient Rome, the agrarians of nineteenth-century Wisconsin, and the Peronists of twentieth-century Argentina. — Yascha Mounk, New Republic, "What the rise of populist movements means for democracy.," 19 July 2017 Jefferson, an agrarian, generally opposed a strong central government. — Jonathan W. White, Smithsonian, "Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr and the American Way of Treason," 17 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agrarian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

8 Dec 2019

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“Agrarian.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agrarian. Accessed 13 December 2019.