Definition of 'coppice'

COBUILD frequency band

coppice

(kɒpɪs

)

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense coppices , present participle coppicing , past tense, past participle coppiced

1. countable noun

A coppice is a small group of trees growing very close to each other.

[British]

...coppices of willow.

...the mixed coppice is an ideal habitat for nesting birds.

regional note: in AM, use copse

2. verb

To coppice trees or bushes means to cut off parts of them, in order to make them look more attractive or to make it easier to obtain wood from them.

[mainly British, technical]

It is best to coppice the trees in the winter before the sap rises. [VERB noun]

...extensive oak woods with coppiced hazel and sweet chestnut. [VERB-ed]

...areas where coppicing of hawthorn and hazel occurs. [VERB-ing]

coppice in British English

(ˈkɒpɪs

)

noun

a thicket or dense growth of small trees or bushes, esp one regularly trimmed back to stumps so that a continual supply of small poles and firewood is obtained

verb

2. (transitive)

to trim back (trees or bushes) to form a coppice

3. (intransitive)

to form a coppice

Derived forms

coppiced (ˈcoppiced)

adjective

coppicing (ˈcoppicing)

noun

Word origin

C14: from Old French copeiz, from couper to cut

COBUILD frequency band

coppice in American English

(ˈkɑpɪs )

noun

copse

Word origin

ME copis < OFr copeis < coper, colper, to strike: see coup

COBUILD frequency band

coppice in American English

(ˈkɑpɪs)

noun

a thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood; copse

Derived forms

coppiced

adjective

Word origin

[1375–1425; late ME copies ‹ MF copeis, OF copeiz ‹ VL *colpātīcium cutover area, equiv. to *colpāt(us) ptp. of *colpāre to cut ( see coup1) + -īcium -ice]

Synonyms of 'coppice'

wood, woodland, trees, forest

More Synonyms of coppice

Examples of 'coppice' in a sentence
coppice

Example sentences from the Collins Corpus

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Woodsmen still make charcoal and coppice the hazel trees, and commoners still graze their animals on the land.

Norway spruce and western hemlock are planted on one side and there is an area of chestnut coppice with some oak and ash.