wold

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English weald (forest). Akin to German Wald, Old Norse völlr (field).

[edit] Noun

Singular
wold

Plural
wolds

wold (plural wolds)

  1. An unforested or deforested plain, a grassland, a moor.
  2. (obsolete) A wood or forest, especially a wooded upland

[edit] Usage notes

  • Used in many English place-names, always hilly tracts of land.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Related terms

  • Wald (German) is a cognate, but a false friend because it retains the original meaning of forest.

[edit] References

  • OED 2nd edition 1989