Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense coppices, present participle coppicing, past tense, past participle coppiced
1. countable noun
A coppice is a small group of trees growing very close to each other.
[British]
...coppices of willow.
...the mixed coppice is an ideal habitat for nesting birds.
regional note: in AM, use copse
2. verb
To coppice trees or bushes means to cut off parts of them, in order to make them look more attractive or to make it easier to obtain wood from them.
[mainly British, technical]
It is best to coppice the trees in the winter before the sap rises. [VERB noun]
...extensive oak woods with coppiced hazel and sweet chestnut. [VERB-ed]
...areas where coppicing of hawthorn and hazel occurs. [VERB-ing]
coppice in British English
(ˈkɒpɪs)
noun
1.
a thicket or dense growth of small trees or bushes, esp one regularly trimmed back to stumps so that a continual supply of small poles and firewood is obtained
verb
2. (transitive)
to trim back (trees or bushes) to form a coppice
3. (intransitive)
to form a coppice
Derived forms
coppiced (ˈcoppiced)
adjective
coppicing (ˈcoppicing)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French copeiz, from couper to cut
coppice in American English
(ˈkɑpɪs)
noun
copse
Word origin
ME copis < OFr copeis < coper, colper, to strike: see coup