Weald is a forested woodland or an area of open rolling upland. Weald in Old English specifically described the forest between the North and South Downs in Sussex, Kent, and Surrey. Weald is a West Saxon variant of Anglian wald/wold (an upland plain or stretch of rolling land).
Weald is usually used capitalized when referring to wooded areas like the Weald of Kent or the Weald of Sussex, both of which are in England. When weald is used lowercase it’s to describe any of the wild and uncultivated upland regions. Weald is one of those delightful descriptive words that I tend to run across in my historical fiction novels and for me it’s basically interchangeable with woods and forest.
What ancient secrets, what mighty perils does this weald hold deep within it’s old growth and twisting paths?
Weald is such a great word – it congers up thoughts of King Arthur, Robin Hood, Faeries, Magic and more. What do you think of the word weald and where have you come across it before?
Namaste ~ Ella
*Check out the Word Nerd Index and my Word Nerd Pinterest Board for other superb words!
** If there’s a word you’d like to see added to the Word Nerd roster, please feel free to contact me or suggest it in the comments – I love feedback and recommendations!
Lawhimsy 