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copse/coppice
Oct. 24th, 2006 07:16 amcopse/coppice - n., a thicket or grove of small trees, especially one maintained by regular trimming.
I've sometimes seen attempts to distinguish between the two words but never been clear on what distinction is being made -- and all the dictionaries seem to agree that copse is not just a synonym but is an alteration of coppice. Which in turn comes from Old French coupeiz, a cut-over forest, from Latin colpare, to cut, strike. In forestry, to coppice is to trim down to the base trees that thicket, such as alder.
---L.
I've sometimes seen attempts to distinguish between the two words but never been clear on what distinction is being made -- and all the dictionaries seem to agree that copse is not just a synonym but is an alteration of coppice. Which in turn comes from Old French coupeiz, a cut-over forest, from Latin colpare, to cut, strike. In forestry, to coppice is to trim down to the base trees that thicket, such as alder.
---L.
