coppice

/ˈkɒpɪs/

Etymology

From Middle English copies, from Old French copeiz (“a cut-over forest”), from presumed Vulgar Latin *colpaticium (“having the quality of being cut”), from *colpāre (“to cut, strike”), from *colpus (“a blow”), from Latin colaphus (“a cuff, box on the ear”), from Ancient Greek κόλαφος (kólaphos, “a blow, slap”).

coppice means A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain times for fuel or other purposes, typically managed to promote growth and ensure a reliable supply of timber. See copse. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

Why this word is great

COPPICE — [Noun] A grove or thicket of small trees or shrubs, especially one maintained by periodic cutting to stimulate growth for a sustainable yield of wood. From Middle English copies, from Old French copeiz ("a cut-over forest"), from Vulgar Latin *colpaticium ("having the quality of being cut"), from *colpāre ("to cut, strike"), from *colpus ("a blow"), from Latin colaphus ("a cuff, blow"), from Ancient Greek κόλαφος (kólaphos, "a blow, slap"). Unlike a forest, which implies a sovereign, ancient expanse, or an orchard, which is cultivated for sweetness, a coppice is a realm of utility and stubborn recurrence. It is the geometric stubble of severed stumps in winter; the dense, sun-dappled thicket of straight poles in summer; and the perpetual scent of fresh-cut hazel and chestnut. This is a landscape forged by the strike, a quiet argument against entropy.

noun

A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain times for fuel or other purposes, typically managed to promote growth and ensure a reliable supply of timber. See copse.“[…]belts of thin white mist streaked the brown plough land in the hollow where Appleby could see the pale shine of a winding river. Across that in turn, meadow and coppice rolled away past the white walls of a village bowered in orchards,[…]”

verb

To manage (a wooded area) sustainably, as a coppice, by periodically cutting back woody plants to promote new growth.“Her plan to coppice the woods should keep her self-sufficient in fuel indefinitely.”
To sprout from the stump.“Few conifer species can coppice.”