coppice

Definition

A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain times for fuel or other purposes, typically managed to promote growth and ensure a reliable supply of timber. See copse.

Etymology

From Middle English copies, from Old French copeiz (“a cut-over forest”), from presumed Vulgar Latin *colpaticium (“having the quality of being cut”), from *colpāre (“to cut, strike”), from *colpus (“a blow”), from Latin colaphus (“a cuff, box on the ear”), from Ancient Greek κόλαφος (kólaphos, “a blow, slap”).

Example Sentences

• "[…]belts of thin white mist streaked the brown plough land in the hollow where Appleby could see the pale shine of a winding river. Across that in turn, meadow and coppice rolled away past the white walls of a village bowered in orchards,[…]"
• "It was also enacted that all coppices or underwoods should be enclosed for periods from four to seven years after felling."
• "At the time of the Norman Conquest, any village with woodland had one or more coppices of about 80 acres. […] Coppice trees are periodically cut to a level just above the ground. […] Hazel forms most English coppices, but there are also coppices of alder, oak, wych elm and willow."