copse
[kops]
- a thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood.
Also coppice.
Origin of copse
First recorded in 1570–80; alteration of coppice
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for copse
Contemporary Examples
Back down along the Orontes, very early the day before, my friend dropped me off on a dirt track by a copse of trees.
Historical Examples
Ere they reached the copse, the peasants had disappeared within it.
Leila, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
"That's the copse," she shouted, pointing to the trees on her left.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
He thought it would be nicer to go to the copse, and so they moved on up the lane.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
Determined to find food and water, Kweek started towards the copse.
Creatures of the NightAlfred W. Rees
Away they flew to a copse beyond the lake where hazels and alders grew.
What the Blackbird saidMrs. Frederick Locker
copse
- another word for coppice (def. 1)
Word Origin
C16: by shortening from coppice
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for copse
n.
1570s, "small wood grown for purposes of periodic cutting," contraction of coppice.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper