I. ˈfȯrə̇st, ˈfär- noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin forestis, from Latin foris outside — more at forum
1.
a. : a tract of more or less wooded land formerly set apart in England primarily for the keeping and hunting of game though often including inhabited areas, usually belonging to the sovereign, and having its own distinctive laws, courts, and officers — compare chase , park , warren
b. Scotland : a tract of usually treeless upland set apart for the keeping and hunting of deer
2.
a. : a dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large tract of land ; specifically : an extensive plant community of shrubs and trees in all stages of growth and decay with a closed canopy having the quality of self-perpetuation or of development into an ecological climax
b. : such a growth or community together with the land on which it stands
3. archaic : an uncultivated or waste area
4. Britain : a district once wooded but now under cultivation — used chiefly in place names
5. usually capitalized : a usually dense and often hilly wooded region (as in equatorial Africa) inhabited by a people whose culture has become characteristic of the region
forest Pygmies
— contrasted with bush and jungle
6. : something felt to resemble a forest: as
a. : a large number of upright objects
a forest of masts
b. : a great quantity
from the forest of answers received
creating whole forests of abstract terms in striving for a narrow precision of expression
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to cover with trees or forest : afforest , reforest
forested with pine and spruce — American Guide Series: Minnesota
2. : to place or hide in a forest