preenclosure
- adjective
- UK
- Historians study preenclosure communities to understand rural life before land privatization.
Examples
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Maps from the preenclosure era show a patchwork of open, communal land.
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The preenclosure fields were shared by villagers for grazing their animals.
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The preenclosure landscape was vastly different from what we see today.
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Many historians study preenclosure farming practices.
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The preenclosure fields were shared by villagers for grazing their animals.
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Historians study preenclosure communities to understand rural life before land privatization.
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Maps from the preenclosure era show a patchwork of open, communal land.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Preenclosure comes from pre- ('before') and enclosure (from 'enclose', meaning 'to close or fence off'). It brings to mind open, shared fields before fences and private ownership, so a preenclosure field is one that existed before land was enclosed.