Area

Area (Lat.) is a term in mathematics meaning quantity of surface. The calculation of areas, or mensuration of surfaces, is one of the objects of geometry. The measuring unit is a square inch, a square foot, &c. according to the unit of length. As a figure is thus measured by finding an equivalent for its surface in squares, the process is sometimes called the quadrature of the figure. See QUADRATURE, MENSURATION, SURVEYING.