definitions

swidden

[ swid-n ]
/ ˈswɪd n /

noun

a plot of land cleared for farming by burning away vegetation.

Nearby words

swerve, sweven, sweyn, swff, swg, swidden, swift, swift current, swift fox, swift moth, swift's disease

Origin of swidden

1951; special use of dial. (N England) swidden area of moor from which vegetation has been burned off, noun use of swidden, swithen to singe < Old Norse svithna to be singed, derivative of svītha to singe (compare dial. swithe, Middle English swithen)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for swidden

swidden

/ (ˈswɪdən) /

noun

  1. an area of land where slash-and-burn techniques have been used to prepare it for cultivation
  2. (as modifier)small-scale swidden agriculture

Word Origin for swidden

C18: Northern English dialect variant of swithen to burn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012