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

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Ecology Terms

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

Rhymes with HEATH

eath, Meath, neath, sheath, wreath