thicket

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈθɪkɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #39216

Meanings

1

noun
A dense group of bushes, shrubs, or small trees.

We had to walk around a thicket that was too dense to pass through.
2

noun
A confusing mass of many small, tangled things.

He had to complete a thicket of paperwork before starting the job.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a dense group of bushes,... copse

Word family

Forms thickets

Derived forms thicketbird

Related forms brush copse grove scrubscrublandshawshrubland

Etymology

From Middle English *thikket, from Old English þiccet, from þicce (“thick”) + Old English nominal suffix -et. Compare similar German Dickicht (“thicket”), which is first attested in the 17th century, however. Compare typologically Bulgarian гъстак (gǎstak), Macedonian густеж (gustež), Czech houští, Polish gęstwina (< Proto-Slavic *gǫstъ); Latin dūmus (akin to dense).

*thikket Middle English þiccet Old English

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# thicket

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈθɪkɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 39216

## Meanings
1. A dense group of bushes, shrubs, or small trees.
2. A confusing mass of many small, tangled things.

## Examples
- We had to walk around a thicket that was too dense to pass through.
- He had to complete a thicket of paperwork before starting the job.

## Derived Forms
- thicketbird

## Related Forms
- brush
- copse
- grove
- scrub
- scrubland
- shaw
- shrubland

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *thikket
- Root: þiccet

## Etymology
From Middle English *thikket, from Old English þiccet, from þicce (“thick”) + Old English nominal suffix -et. Compare similar German Dickicht (“thicket”), which is first attested in the 17th century, however. Compare typologically Bulgarian гъстак (gǎstak), Macedonian густеж (gustež), Czech houští, Polish gęstwina (< Proto-Slavic *gǫstъ); Latin dūmus (akin to dense).

## AI Etymology
Thicket is from Middle English *thikket, from Old English þiccet, from þicce (“thick”) + Old English nominal suffix -et. Compare similar German Dickicht (“thicket”), which is first attested in the 17th century, however. Compare typologically Bulgarian гъстак (gǎstak), Macedonian густеж (gustež), Czech houští, Polish gęstwina (< Proto-Slavic *gǫstъ); Latin dūmus (akin to dense). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *thikket (Middle English) and þiccet (Old English). Current senses include a dense group of bushes, shrubs, or small trees and a confusing mass of many small, tangled things. The wider family includes derived forms such as thicketbird and related words such as brush, copse, grove, scrub, and scrubland.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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thicket

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