A Forest Was a Legal Category, Not a Wood
A forest is a large wooded area. In medieval England the word meant land under royal hunting law, trees or no trees.
A forest is a large area covered with trees. In medieval England the word was legal rather than botanical: a royal forest was land reserved for the king's hunting and governed by its own harsh laws, and it could include villages, farmland and open heath. Dartmoor and Exmoor are called forests for that reason, though largely treeless.
- A large wooded area. *A pine forest.*
- Royal hunting land (historical). *The royal forest.*
- A dense collection. *A forest of cranes.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | forest | An ancient forest. |
| Plural | forests | Tropical forests. |
| Adjective | forested | Heavily forested. |
| Noun | forestry | A degree in forestry. |
| Related | deforestation | Rapid deforestation. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The New Forest was created for hunting.By William the Conqueror.
- Exmoor is a forest with few trees.The legal sense.
- Cannot see the wood for the trees.American: the forest for the trees.
Wooded land terms
- Forest — a large wooded area, or historically royal hunting land
- Wood — a smaller wooded area
- Copse — a small group of trees, often managed
- Coppice — woodland cut back to stimulate regrowth
- Ancient woodland — continuously wooded since a defined historical date
From Medieval Latin *forestis silva*, the outside wood, from Latin *foris*, outside — meaning land outside the enclosed and cultivated area.
Why is Exmoor called a forest?
Because forest was a legal term for land under royal hunting law, regardless of how many trees stood on it.
Forest or wood?
A wood is smaller. Forest suggests scale, and in Britain also carries the historical legal sense.