Adjacent Words

Forest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FOR'EST, n. [L. foris.]
1. An extensive wood, or a large tract of land covered with trees. In America, the word is usually applied to a wood of native growth, or a tract of woodland which has never been cultivated. It differs from wood or woods chiefly in extent. We read of the Hercynian forest, in Germany, and the forest of Ardennes, in France or Gaul.
2. In law, in Great Britain, a certain territory of woody grounds and pastures, privileged for wild beasts and fowls of forest, chase and warren, to rest and abide in, under the protection of the king, for his pleasure. In this sense, the word has no application in America.
Forest laws, laws for governing and regulating forests, and preserving game.
FOR'EST, v.t. To cover with trees or wood.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area [syn: forest, wood, woods]
2: land that is covered with trees and shrubs [syn: forest, woodland, timberland, timber] v
1: establish a forest on previously unforested land; "afforest the mountains" [syn: afforest, forest]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) unenclosed (woodland), from Latin foris outside — more at forum Date: 13th century 1. a dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large tract 2. a tract of wooded land in England formerly owned by the sovereign and used for game 3. something resembling a forest especially in profusion or lushness <a forest of microphones> <a kelp forest> • forestal or forestial adjective • forested adjective II. transitive verb Date: circa 1828 to cover with trees or forest <land densely forested with firs> • forestation noun

Britannica Concise

Complex ecosystem in which trees are the dominant life form. Tree-dominated forests can occur wherever the temperatures rise above 50° F (10° C) in the warmest months and the annual precipitation is more than 8 in. (200 mm). They can develop under various conditions within these limits, and the kind of soil, plant, and animal life differs according to the extremes of environmental influences. In cool, high-latitude subpolar regions, taiga (boreal) forests are dominated by hardy conifers. In more temperate high-latitude climates, mixed forests of both conifers and broad-leaved deciduous trees predominate. Broad-leaved deciduous forests develop in midlatitude climates. In humid equatorial climates, tropical rain forests develop. There heavy rainfall supports evergreens that have broad leaves instead of the needle leaves of cooler evergreen forests. Forests are among the most complex ecosystems in the world, with extensive vertical layering. Conifer forests have the simplest structure: a tree layer, a shrub layer that is spotty or even absent, and a ground layer covered with lichens, mosses, and liverworts. Deciduous forests are more complex (the tree canopy is divided into an upper and lower story), and rain-forest canopies are divided into at least three layers. Forest animals have highly developed hearing, and many are adapted for vertical movement through the environment. Because food other than ground plants is scarce, many ground-dwelling animals use forests only for shelter. The forest is nature's most efficient ecosystem, with a high rate of photosynthesis affecting both plant and animal systems in complex organic relationships.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a (often attrib.) a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth. b the trees growing in it. c a large number or dense mass of vertical objects (a forest of masts). 2 a district formerly a forest but now cultivated (Sherwood Forest). 3 hist. an area usu. owned by the sovereign and kept for hunting. --v.tr. 1 plant with trees. 2 convert into a forest. Phrases and idioms: forest-tree a large tree suitable for a forest. Etymology: ME f. OF f. LL forestis silva wood outside the walls of a park f. L foris outside

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forest For"est, a. Of or pertaining to a forest; sylvan. Forest fly. (Zo["o]l.) (a) One of numerous species of blood-sucking flies, of the family Tabanid[ae], which attack both men and beasts. See Horse fly. (b) A fly of the genus Hippobosca, esp. H. equina. See Horse tick. Forest glade, a grassy space in a forest. --Thomson. Forest laws, laws for the protection of game, preservation of timber, etc., in forests. Forest tree, a tree of the forest, especially a timber tree, as distinguished from a fruit tree.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forest For"est, v. t. To cover with trees or wood.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forest For"est, n. [OF. forest, F. for[^e]t, LL. forestis, also, forestus, forestum, foresta, prop., open ground reserved for the chase, fr. L. foris, foras, out of doors, abroad. See Foreign.] 1. 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. 2. (Eng. Law) 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(forests) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A forest is a large area where trees grow close together. Parts of the forest are still dense and inaccessible. ...25 million hectares of forest. N-VAR 2. A forest of tall or narrow objects is a group of them standing or sticking upright. (LITERARY) They descended from the plane into a forest of microphones and cameras. N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Heb. ya'ar, meaning a dense wood, from its luxuriance. Thus all the great primeval forests of Syria (Eccl. 2:6; Isa. 44:14; Jer. 5:6; Micah 5:8). The most extensive was the trans-Jordanic forest of Ephraim (2 Sam. 18:6, 8; Josh. 17:15, 18), which is probably the same as the wood of Ephratah (Ps. 132:6), some part of the great forest of Gilead. It was in this forest that Absalom was slain by Joab. David withdrew to the forest of Hareth in the mountains of Judah to avoid the fury of Saul (1 Sam. 22:5). We read also of the forest of Bethel (2 Kings 2:23, 24), and of that which the Israelites passed in their pursuit of the Philistines (1 Sam. 14:25), and of the forest of the cedars of Lebanon (1 Kings 4:33; 2 Kings 19:23; Hos. 14:5, 6).

"The house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:2; 10:17; 2 Chr. 9:16) was probably Solomon's armoury, and was so called because the wood of its many pillars came from Lebanon, and they had the appearance of a forest. (See BAALBEC.)

Heb. horesh, denoting a thicket of trees, underwood, jungle, bushes, or trees entangled, and therefore affording a safe hiding-place. place. This word is rendered "forest" only in 2 Chr. 27:4. It is also rendered "wood", the "wood" in the "wilderness of Ziph," in which david concealed himself (1 Sam. 23:15), which lay south-east of Hebron. In Isa. 17:19 this word is in Authorized Version rendered incorrectly "bough."

Heb. pardes, meaning an enclosed garden or plantation. Asaph is (Neh. 2:8) called the "keeper of the king's forest." The same Hebrew word is used Eccl. 2:5, where it is rendered in the plural "orchards" (R.V., "parks"), and Cant. 4: 13, rendered "orchard" (R.V. marg., "a paradise").

"The forest of the vintage" (Zech. 11:2, "inaccessible forest," or R.V. "strong forest") is probably a figurative allusion to Jerusalem, or the verse may simply point to the devastation of the region referred to.

The forest is an image of unfruitfulness as contrasted with a cultivated field (Isa. 29:17; 32:15; Jer. 26:18; Hos. 2:12). Isaiah (10:19, 33, 34) likens the Assyrian host under Sennacherib (q.v.) to the trees of some huge forest, to be suddenly cut down by an unseen stroke.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for'-est:

(1) choresh (compare proper name Harosheth), 2Ch 27:4. In 1Sa 23:15 ff translated "wood"; in Isa 17:9, "wood"; in Eze 31:3, "forest-like shade." Applied to any thick growth of vegetation but not necessarily so extensive as (3).

(2) pardec: Ne 2:8, margin "park"; Ec 2:5, the King James Version "orchards," the Revised Version (British and American) "parks"; So 4:13, English Versions of the Bible "orchard," the Revised Version, margin "paradise." A word of Persian origin signifying probably an enclosure.

See PARADISE.

(3) ya`ar from root meaning "rugged"; compare Arabic wa`ar, "a rugged, stony region." It is sometimes rendered "forest" and sometimes (but less often in the Revised Version (British and American)) "wood." It is used of certain definite wooded tracts: "the forest in Arabia" (Isa 21:13, margin "thickets"); "the forest of Carmel" (2Ki 19:23 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "of his fruitful field"); "the forest of Hereth" (1Sa 22:5); "the forest of Lebanon" (1Ki 7:2 f; 10:17-21; 2Ch 9:16-20); "the forest of Ephraim," East of the Jordan (2Sa 18:6,8,17). The word ya`ar appears also in well- known Kiriath-jearim, "the city of forests," and Mr. Jearim (Jos 15:10). Among numerous other references the following may be cited: De 19:5; Jos 17:15,18; 1Ch 16:33; 2Ki 2:24; Ps 80:13; 83:14; 96:12; 132:6; Ec 2:6; So 2:3; 1Sa 7:2; 14:25,26; Jer 4:29; 46:23; Eze 34:29; Mic 3:12; 7:14.

(4) cebhakh, from root meaning "to interweave." A "thicket" (Ge 22:13; Jer 4:7); "thicket of trees" (Ps 74:5); "thickets of the forest" (Isa 9:18; 10:34).

(5) 'adbhim, "thicket" (Jer 4:29).

From many references it is evident that Palestine had in Old Testament times much more extensive forests and woodlands than today. For a discussion of the subject see BOTANY.

E. W. G. Masterman

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Wood (of large extent), woods, woodland, grove.

Moby Thesaurus

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