greenfieldn.adj.
/ˈɡriːnfiːld/, U.S. /ˈɡrinˌfild/ A. n.† 1. The green cloth on the table of a counting house. Cf. green cloth n. Obsolete.The sense in quot. a1616 is unclear. This sentence from the speech by Mistress Quickly has generated much discussion, with possible readings including ‘table of green fells’, and ‘table of Greenfield's’. The editions of 1600 and 1608 end the sentence with ‘sharpe as a pen’. S. Wells & G. Taylor Compl. Wks. Shakespeare (1986) 647/1 follows Theobald's 1726 reading: ‘His nose was as sharp as a pen, and a babbled of green fields.’
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society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > [noun] > cloth
green cloth1449
greenfielda1483
a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 51 And suche dayes as the Kings chappell removeth, every of these children then present receveth iiiid. at the grene feald [British Library MSS read seald, fald] of the countyng-house, for horse hyre dayly, as longe as they be journeying.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. iii. 17 His Nose was as sharpe as a Pen, and [perh. read on] a Table of greene fields. View more context for this quotation]
2.
a. A greenfield business venture; such ventures collectively.
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society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > other types of company
incorporation1530
acquisitor1668
private company?1711
private practice1724
public company1730
trading house1760
acquiror1789
in-company1791
public corporation1796
company1800
subsidiary company1823
proprietary company1824
stock-company1827
trust company1827
subsidiary1828
concessionaire1839
commandite1844
statutory company1847
parent company1854
mastership1868
state enterprise1886
Pty.1904
asset class1931
acquirer1950
parent1953
growth company1959
spin-off1959
non-profit1961
shell1964
not-for-profit1969
vehicle1971
spin-out1972
startup1975
greenfield1982
large-cap1982
monoline1984
small cap1984
mid-cap1988
multidomestic1989
dotcom1996
1982 G. Freund Mon Valley in Shadow of Disinvesting in L. Evans Overtime: Worker Writer Anthology (1990) 23 Weison's local..filed suit against the Army Corps of Engineers for approving the construction of a new ‘greenfield’, Conneaut Works on Lake Erie.
1989 Hydrocarbon Processing Nov. 148R/2 (advt.) This expertise can be applied to revamping and ‘green field’.
2001 E. Obeng in S. Crainer & D. Dearlove Financial Times Handbk. Managem. (ed. 2) 645 There is a distinct advantage for any organization which can start as a greenfield without the associated overheads and costs, and difficulty of transition.
b. Land not previously built on, esp. regarded as a site for commercial development.
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society > occupation and work > workplace > [noun] > position or site for a business
stand1784
situs1950
workspace1974
greenfield2003
2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 20 Apr. a15/5 We're not going to be a greenfield... But for cities like us to survive, we need economic development, and we won't get that if we're left with just the brownfields.
2005 Daily Tel. 23 Nov. 4/2 Environmental damage, the loss of greenfield, traffic congestion, the fragmentation of urban communities and the loss of social cohesion.
2006 N.Y. Times Mag. 21 May 104/1 But it's one thing to build a housing subdivision on greenfield and invite prospective homeowners to buy in if they want to.
B. adj. (chiefly attributive).
1. Also in plural. Designating or relating to a previously undeveloped site used for commercial development or exploitation; (of land) not previously built on. Cf. brownfield n. at brown adj. Additions.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > [adjective] > types of planning or development
mononucleated1930
strip-built1936
polynucleated1938
greenfield1940
scattered-site1956
inclusionary1971
scatter-site1972
1940 Nevada State Jrnl. 15 Sept. 15/2 (heading) New ‘ranch style’ home in greenfields addition.
1947 Times 27 Sept. 9/3 The new works in the South Wales Development Area was planned and built in accordance with the best modern practice, on what was a green field site.
1962 Economist 24 Mar. 1150/1 Continental shipyards..had the advantage of being rebuilt de novo, often on ‘green field’ sites, after wartime destruction.
1968 Times 9 Nov. 2/3 It would not be a ‘green fields’ new town but an addition to an existing development, or in an open space.
1990 Green Mag. Nov. 9/1 If the applications were approved, 15,000 acres would be involved, much of it prime greenfield land.
2006 Build It May 132/2 (advt.) The site is greenfield but is currently zoned for six detached properties.
2. Designating a business that is developed as an entirely new venture, as opposed to one developed via the purchase or expansion of an existing business.
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society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > other types of company
capitalless1837
merged1839
multinational1854
co-op1872
acquiring1880
syndicated1889
trustified1890
bottom-heavy1895
prospectusless1898
wholly-owned1906
semi-pro1908
not-for-profit1913
blue chip1924
mature1928
geared1930
liquid1930
footloose1939
monoline1958
boutique1968
greenfield1969
me-too1976
semi-professional1976
demerged1980
unbundled1980
multidomestic1982
unorganized1986
1969 Jrnl. Finance 24 788 The division of the acquisition of foreign capacity between the purchase of going concerns, expansions of pre-existing subsidiaries and ‘green field’ ventures.
1989 H. Jansson in E. Kaynak & K. H. Lee Global Business iv. 85 A company buying itself a position in the industry instead of building it up gradually through a green-field investment.
1993 J. Kay Found. Corporate Success iii. v. 67 Closing down the indigenous industry and replacing it with greenfield operations, with new workers and new management systems.
2007 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 Oct. a16/1 (advt.) Recent inflows (in the form of mergers and acquisitions and new greenfield investments) are very welcome.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.a1483