weald

noun

ˈwēld

1

: a heavily wooded area : forest

the Weald of Kent

2

: a wild or uncultivated usually upland region

Did you know?

If weald were a tree, it would have many annual rings. It has been in use as a general word for "forest" since the days of Old English, and it has also long been used, in its capitalized form, as a geographic name for a once-heavily forested region of southeast England. Weald is also often capitalized today when used to refer to wooded areas like the Weald of Kent and the Weald of Sussex in England. In time, the word branched out to designate any wild and uncultivated upland regions. A related word is wold, meaning "an upland plain or stretch of rolling land."

Word History

Etymology

the Weald, England, from Middle English weeld, from Old English weald forest — more at wold

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of weald was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

Style

“Weald.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weald. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

negotiate

Listen to the pronunciation of negotiate

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!