forest
UK /ˈfɒɹɪst/ · US /ˈfɔɹəst/ noun, verb, proper noun
Also a form of deforest
Forms forests foresting forested foreste
- noun A dense uncultivated tract of trees and undergrowth, larger than woods.
- noun Any dense collection or amount. “a forest of criticism”
- noun (historical) A defined area of land set aside in England as royal hunting ground or for other privileged use; all such areas.
- noun (graph theory) A graph with no cycles; i.e., a graph made up of trees.
- noun (computing, Microsoft Windows) A group of domains that are managed as a unit.
- noun (uncountable) The color forest green.
- verb (transitive) To cover an area with trees.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Scott County, Mississippi, United States.
- proper noun A number of townships in the United States, in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), and Missouri, listed under Forest Township.
- proper noun A hamlet in Ellerton-on-Swale parish, North Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref NZ2700).
- proper noun A locality in Circular Head Council, north western Tasmania, Australia.
- proper noun A municipality of Brussels, Brussels Capital Region, Belgium
- proper noun (soccer) Nottingham Forest F.C.
- proper noun A male given name: Alternative form of Forrest.
Synonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English forest, from Old French forest, from Early Medieval Latin forestis. The Latin could be:
* from foris (“outside”), as in forestis (silva) "(wood) outside,"
* or from Frankish or Proto-West Germanic *furhisti (“forest, fir-grove, wooded land”), equivalent to fir + hurst. In which case, related to Old English fyrhþe (“forested land”), Old High German forst, forsti (“forest”), Old Norse fýri (“pine forest”). Doublet of frith.
Cognate with Dutch vorst (“copse, grove, woodland”), German Forst (“forest”).
In this sense, mostly displaced the native Middle English wode, from Old English wudu (modern English wood) and Middle English wald, wold, wæld, from Old English wald, weald (modern English wald, weald, wold).
French surname, from Old French forest (“forest”). Compare Laforest and Deforest.
Also an English and Scottish surname, variant of Forrest and related to the above.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An extensive wood; a large tract of land covered with trees; in the United States, a wood of native growth, or a tract of woodland which has never been cultivated.
- noun A large extent or precinct of country, generally waste and woody, belonging to the sovereign, set apart for the keeping of game for his use, not inclosed, but distinguished by certain limits, and protected by certain laws, courts, and officers of its own. Burrill.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a forest; sylvan. Forest fly. (Zoöl.) (a) One of numerous species of blood-sucking flies, of the family Tabanidæ, which attack both men and beasts. See Horse fly. (b) A fly of the genus Hippobosca, esp. H. equina. See Horse tick.
- verb To cover with trees or wood.
Etymology [OF. forest, F. forêt, LL. forestis, also, forestus, forestum, foresta, prop., open ground reserved for the chase, fr. L. foris, foras, out of doors, abroad. See Foreign.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “forest”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details