spinney
9.9
A small group of trees and bushes that shelter birds and small animals
- noun
- /ˈspɪni/
- Archaic
:
matorral
- He said I didn't call spinneys, and I fuckin' called spinneys.
Examples
-
Little head-spinney.
-
She knew English and worked as an accountant with good chances of promotion at the exclusive "Spinney's" food store where the mandatory officials did their shopping.
Fiction book (1998) -
He said I didn't call spinneys, and I fuckin' called spinneys.
-
The deer often hide in the dense spinney near the edge of the field.
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A small spinney provided the perfect cover for the birds nesting there.
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During our walk, we discovered a hidden spinney full of wildflowers.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A small area of trees and bushes
emphasizes that it shelters game or wild animals
How Big
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spinney comes from an old word meaning 'thorn', from Latin spina, and you can see the same root in English spine. That's why a spinney is a small, often thorny, group of trees or bushes where animals can hide.