afforest

English

Etymology

First attested in the 16th century. From Medieval Latin afforēstō, from Latin ad (“towards”) + forēsta (“forest”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /əˈfɒɹɪst/
(US) IPA^(key): /əˈfɔɹɪst/, /əˈfɒɹɪst/

Verb

afforest (third-person singular simple present afforests, present participle afforesting, simple past and past participle afforested)

(transitive) To make into forest
After we leave the quarry, we intend to afforest the land and turn it into a nature reserve.
- 1901 June 7, G. H. Davies, “Rain-making”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record‎, volume 4, number 7, page 195:
  It is probably impossible to afforest quickly any real desert.

Usage notes

"Afforest" once connoted bringing woodland under forest law in order to provide hunting grounds. However today the verb is more likely to connote commercial exploitation.

Synonyms

(to make into forest): forest

Antonyms

(to make into forest): deafforest, deforest

Derived terms

afforestable
afforestation
afforester
afforestment
deafforest
disafforest
reafforest

Translations

make into a forest

Bulgarian: залесявам (zalesjavam)
Catalan: aforestar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 綠化／绿化 (zh) (lǜhuà)
Dutch: bebossen (nl)
Esperanto: arbarigi
Finnish: metsittää (fi)
German: aufforsten (de)
Ido: arborizar (io)
Irish: foraoisigh, coilltigh
Polish: zalesiać (pl) impf, zalesić pf
Portuguese: florestar
Romanian: împăduri (ro)
Spanish: forestar (es), arborizar (es)
Swedish: beskoga (sv)
Welsh: fforestu, coedwigo

References

2005, Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised), Oxford University Press, →ISBN
1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, Oxford University Press, →ISBN
“Afforest, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1989.
“afforest”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.