coppice

1 of 2

noun

cop·​pice ˈkä-pəs 

1

: copse

2

: forest originating mainly from shoots or root suckers rather than seed

an oak coppice

coppice

2 of 2

verb

coppiced; coppicing

transitive verb

: to cut back so as to regrow in the form of a coppice

intransitive verb

: to form a coppice

specifically, of a tree : to sprout freely from the base

Synonyms

Noun

• boscage
• boskage
• bosk
• bosque
• bosquet
• brake
• brushwood
• chaparral
• copse
• covert
• thicket

Examples of coppice in a Sentence

Noun

the deer bounded off into the coppice

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The two most straightforward of the trials will involve large-scale planting of trees and bioenergy crops, including Miscanthus grasses and coppice willow, reports Robert Lea for AZoCleanTech. —Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 May 2021

Another strategy, called short rotation coppice, involves planting fast-growing trees such as willows and poplars in extremely dense rows. —Eric Toensmeier, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2020

Likewise green peas, which require space, time, and handsome hazel branches from one’s own woodland coppice in order to yield more than a handful. —Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English copies cutover area overgrown with brush, from Middle French copeis, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *colpaticium, from *colpare to cut, from Late Latin colpus blow — more at cope entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1538, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

coppice

noun

cop·​pice

ˈkäp-əs

: a thicket, grove, or growth of small trees