heath

heath

noun \ˈhēth\

Definition of HEATH

1

a : a tract of wasteland

b : an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil, inferior drainage, and a surface rich in peat or peaty humus

2

a : any of a family (Ericaceae, the heath family) of shrubby dicotyledonous and often evergreen plants that thrive on open barren usually acid and ill-drained soil; especially : an evergreen subshrub of either of two genera (Erica and Calluna) with whorls of needlelike leaves and clusters of small flowers

b : any of various plants that resemble true heaths

— heath·less \-ləs\ adjective

— heath·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— heathy \ˈhē-thē\ adjective

Examples of HEATH

1. <not much grows on the heath besides heather>
2. <drove through a vast, empty heath that seemingly had no end>

Origin of HEATH

Middle English heth, from Old English hǣth; akin to Old High German heida heather, Old Welsh coit forest

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to HEATH

Synonyms

campo, champaign, down(s), grassland, plain, lea (or ley), llano, moor, pampa, prairie, savanna (also savannah), steppe, tundra, veld (or veldt)

Related Words

field, meadow; floodplain; bottom, bottomland, flat, lowland; plateau, table, tableland, upland

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

Rhymes with HEATH

eath, Meath, neath, sheath, wreath

Heath

biographical name \ˈhēth\

Definition of HEATH

Sir Edward (Richard George) 1916–2005 British prime min. (1970–74)