Word
warren
Phoneticswar·ren
US/ˈwɔɹən/
UK/wˈɒɹən/
Definitions
01rabbit burrows
n. a series of connected underground tunnels where rabbits live and breed.
n. a network of interconnecting rabbit burrows.
“The field was full of holes leading down into a large rabbit warren.”
“Ecologists studied the impact of the sprawling warren on the local soil stability, noting how the rabbits had excavated several meters beneath the surface.”
Synonyms
03historical hunting ground
n. in the past, a piece of land kept specifically for breeding and hunting small animals like rabbits.
n. a piece of land legally authorised for the breeding and hunting of small game, specifically rabbits.
“The lord of the manor maintained a private warren to ensure a steady supply of meat.”
“Medieval records indicate that the king granted the local monastery the right of free warren over the surrounding hillsides.”
Archaic · Technical
Real-World Examples
“The Backrooms began with a single unsettling image posted anonymously online: a claustrophobic warren of tawdrily yellow, windowless rooms with aged carpets and harsh overhead fluorescent lights.” Etymology
From the Anglo-Norman surname (de) Warenne, a reference to a place called Varenne, a hamlet near Arques-la-Bataille, along the river Varenne in Normandy, from Medieval Latin Warinna, a hydronym of Celtic/Gaulish origin, from var-, ver- (“river, water”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer- (“water, rain, flow”); see also the Latin river Avara. Phonetic Germanic influence is shown by the [v] > [w].
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/warren