different between woods vs sylvan

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w?dz/
• Rhymes: -?dz

Noun

woods

1. plural of wood

Noun

woods pl

1. (usually in the plural, sometimes in the singular) A dense collection of trees covering a relatively small area; smaller than a forest.

   These woods are near a field.

   This woods is near a field. (uncommon)

   • 1923, Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:
2. (military, attributive) For chemical behavior purposes, trees in full leaf (coniferous or medium-dense deciduous forests).

Usage notes

• Woods more often takes a plural verb (determiner, etc, as in these woods are) than a singular verb (as in this woods is).
• In English, one does not say "I was lost in the wood," but rather "I was lost in the woods."

Hyponyms

• See also Thesaurus:forest

Derived terms

• Lake of the Woods
• out of the woods
• woodsman

Translations

Verb

woods

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of wood

References

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin sylvanus, possibly via Middle French sylvain, from Latin Silv?nus (“Roman god of the woods”), from silva (“forest”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *swel- (“beam, board, frame, threshold”). The ?y? in sylvanus and its descendants is due to influence from Ancient Greek ????? (h??l?, “wood, matter”), transliterated in the Latin style as hyle.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: s?l'v?n, IPA^(key): /?s?lv?n/
• Hyphenation: syl?van

Adjective

sylvan (comparative more sylvan, superlative most sylvan)

1. Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
2. Residing in a forest or wood.
3. Wooded, or covered in forest.

Alternative forms

• silvan

Synonyms

• (of or like a forest): forestlike, foresty
• (of or like a grove): grovy

Derived terms

• anthrosylvan
• sylvanite
• sylvanshine

Related terms

Translations

See also

• arboreal
• nemorous

Noun

sylvan (plural sylvans)

1. One who resides in the woods.
2. A fabled deity of the wood; a faun, a satyr.