HEATH


Meaning of HEATH in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈhēth ]

noun

Etymology: Middle English heth, from Old English hǣth; akin to Old High German heida heather, Old Welsh coit forest

Date: before 12th century

1.

a. : a tract of wasteland

b. : an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil, inferior drainage, and a surface rich in peat or peaty humus

2.

a. : any of a family (Ericaceae, the heath family) of shrubby dicotyledonous and often evergreen plants that thrive on open barren usually acid and ill-drained soil ; especially : an evergreen subshrub of either of two genera ( Erica and Calluna ) with whorls of needlelike leaves and clusters of small flowers

b. : any of various plants that resemble true heaths

• heath·less -ləs adjective

• heath·like -ˌlīk adjective

• heathy ˈhē-thē adjective

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.