Etymology: Middle English, from Old English feld; akin to Old High German feld field, Old English flōr floor — more at floor
Date: before 12th century
1 a (1): an open land area free of woods and buildings (2): an area of land marked by the presence of particular objects or features <dune fields>b (1): an area of cleared enclosed land used for cultivation or pasture <a field of wheat>(2): land containing a natural resource (3):airfieldc: the place where a battle is fought; also:battled: a large unbroken expanse (as of ice) 2 a: an area or division of an activity, subject, or profession b: the sphere of practical operation outside a base (as a laboratory, office, or factory) <geologists working in the field>c: an area for military exercises or maneuvers d (1): an area constructed, equipped, or marked for sports (2): the portion of an indoor or outdoor sports area enclosed by the running track and on which field events are conducted (3): any of the three sections of a baseball outfield <hits to all fields> 3: a space on which something is drawn or projected: as a: the space on the surface of a coin, medal, or seal that does not contain the design b: the ground of each division in a flag c: the whole surface of an escutcheon 4: the individuals that make up all or part of the participants in a contest; especially: all participants with the exception of the favorite or the winner in a contest where more than two are entered 5: the area visible through the lens of an optical instrument 6 a: a region or space in which a given effect (as magnetism) exists b: a region of embryonic tissue capable of a particular type of differentiation <a morphogenetic field> 7: a set of mathematical elements that is subject to two binary operations the second of which is distributive relative to the first and that constitutes a commutative group under the first operation and also under the second if the zero or unit element under the first is omitted 8: a complex of forces that serve as causative agents in human behavior 9: a series of drain tiles and an absorption area for septic-tank outflow 10: a particular area (as of a record in a database) in which the same type of information is regularly recorded
— from the field: in field goals as opposed to free throws <made 40 percent of his shots from the field>
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