Changes

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) unenclosed (woodland), from [[Latin]] foris outside  

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from Anglo-French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) unenclosed (woodland), from [[Latin]] foris outside  

*Date: [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Century 13th century]

*Date: [https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Century 13th century]

The [[word]] "forest" comes from Middle English forest, from Old French forest (also forès) "forest, vast expanse covered by trees", believed to be a borrowing (probably via Frankish or Old High German) of the Medieval Latin word foresta "open wood". Foresta was first used by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian Carolingian] scribes in the Capitularies of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne]  to refer specifically to the [[king]]'s royal [[hunting]] grounds. The term was not endemic to the Romance languages (e.g. native words for "forest" in the Romance languages evolved out of the Latin word silva "forest, wood"; cf. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese selva; Romanian silvă; Old French selve); and cognates in Romance languages, such as Italian foresta, Spanish and Portuguese floresta, etc. are all ultimately borrowings of the French word. The exact [[origin]] of Medieval Latin foresta is obscure. Some authorities claim the word derives from the Late Latin phrase forestam silvam, meaning "the outer wood"; others claim the term is a latinisation of the Frankish word *forhist "forest, wooded country", assimilated to forestam silvam (a common [[practice]] among Frankish scribes). Frankish *forhist is attested by Old High German forst "forest", Middle Low German vorst "forest", Old English fyrhþ "forest, woodland, game preserve, [[hunting]] ground", and Old Norse fýri "coniferous forest", all of which derive from Proto-Germanic *furχísa-, *furχíþja- "a fir-wood, coniferous forest", from Indo-European *perkwu-  "a coniferous or mountain forest, wooded height". Uses of the word "forest" in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaic. The word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (appearing in [[Latin]] [[texts]] like the [http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta Magna Carta]) denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for [[hunting]] by [http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudal feudalism] [[nobility]] (see Royal Forest). These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all. However, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word "forest" [[eventually]] came to mean wooded land more generally. By the start of the fourteenth century the word appeared in [[English]] [[texts]], indicating all three [[senses]]: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage

The [[word]] "forest" comes from Middle English forest, from Old French forest (also forès) "forest, vast expanse covered by trees", believed to be a borrowing (probably via Frankish or Old High German) of the Medieval Latin word foresta "open wood". Foresta was first used by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian Carolingian] scribes in the Capitularies of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne Charlemagne]  to refer specifically to the [[king]]'s royal [[hunting]] grounds. The term was not endemic to the Romance languages (e.g. native words for "forest" in the Romance languages evolved out of the Latin word silva "forest, wood"; cf. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese selva; Romanian silvă; Old French selve); and cognates in Romance languages, such as Italian foresta, Spanish and Portuguese floresta, etc. are all ultimately borrowings of the French word. The exact [[origin]] of Medieval Latin foresta is obscure. Some authorities claim the word derives from the Late Latin phrase forestam silvam, meaning "the outer wood"; others claim the term is a latinisation of the Frankish word *forhist "forest, wooded country", assimilated to forestam silvam (a common [[practice]] among Frankish scribes). Frankish *forhist is attested by Old High German forst "forest", Middle Low German vorst "forest", Old English fyrhþ "forest, woodland, game preserve, [[hunting]] ground", and Old Norse fýri "coniferous forest", all of which derive from Proto-Germanic *furχísa-, *furχíþja- "a fir-wood, coniferous forest", from Indo-European *perkwu-  "a coniferous or mountain forest, wooded height". Uses of the word "forest" in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaic. The word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (appearing in [[Latin]] [[texts]] like the [https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta Magna Carta]) denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for [[hunting]] by [https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudal feudalism] [[nobility]] (see Royal Forest). These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all. However, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word "forest" [[eventually]] came to mean wooded land more generally. By the start of the fourteenth century the word appeared in [[English]] [[texts]], indicating all three [[senses]]: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage

Other terms used to mean "an area with a high density of trees" are wood, woodland, wold, weald and holt. Unlike forest, these are all derived from [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] and were not borrowed from another [[language]]. Some now reserve the term woodland for an area with more open space between trees.

Other terms used to mean "an area with a high density of trees" are wood, woodland, wold, weald and holt. Unlike forest, these are all derived from [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] and were not borrowed from another [[language]]. Some now reserve the term woodland for an area with more open space between trees.

==Defintions==

==Defintions==

*1 : a dense [[growth]] of [http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees trees] and underbrush covering a large tract

*1 : a dense [[growth]] of [https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees trees] and underbrush covering a large tract

*2 : a tract of wooded [[land]] in England formerly owned by the sovereign and used for game

*2 : a tract of wooded [[land]] in England formerly owned by the sovereign and used for game

*3 : something resembling a forest especially in profusion or lushness <a forest of microphones> <a kelp forest>

*3 : something resembling a forest especially in profusion or lushness <a forest of microphones> <a kelp forest>

==Description==

==Description==

A '''forest''' (also called a wood, woodland, wold, weald, wellard or holt) is an area with a high [[density]] of [http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees trees]. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These [[plant]] [[communities]] cover approximately 9.4% of the [[Earth]]'s [[surface]] (or 30% of total [[land]] area), though they once covered much more (about 50% of total land area), in many [[different]] regions and [[function]] as [[habitats]] for [[organisms]], hydrologic [[flow]] modulators, and [[soil]] conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the [[Earth]]'s [[biosphere]]. Although a forest is [[classified]] primarily by trees, a forest ecosystem is defined intrinsically with additional [[species]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus fungi].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest]

A '''forest''' (also called a wood, woodland, wold, weald, wellard or holt) is an area with a high [[density]] of [https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees trees]. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These [[plant]] [[communities]] cover approximately 9.4% of the [[Earth]]'s [[surface]] (or 30% of total [[land]] area), though they once covered much more (about 50% of total land area), in many [[different]] regions and [[function]] as [[habitats]] for [[organisms]], hydrologic [[flow]] modulators, and [[soil]] conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the [[Earth]]'s [[biosphere]]. Although a forest is [[classified]] primarily by trees, a forest ecosystem is defined intrinsically with additional [[species]] such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus fungi].[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest]

[[Category: Ecology]]

[[Category: Ecology]]

[[Category: Earth Science]]

[[Category: Earth Science]]