Heathland
/ˈhiːθ.lænd/noun
Land covered with heath, especially an open, uncultivated area with poor soil.
Did you know?The first element, *heath*, goes back to an old word for uncultivated land, and the whole compound preserves the eerie sense of a place outside human control rather than a mystical “spellword.”
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
hǣth
“uncultivated ground, moor, or wasteland”
Middle English
ME
heth
“heath, open uncultivated land”
Old English
OE
land
“ground, soil, territory”
Middle English
ME
hethlond
“heath land; land covered with heath”
Modern English
EN
heathland
“open land dominated by heath vegetation”