underwood

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   shrubs, small trees, and other low vegetation growing beneath taller woodland trees

   The deer vanished into thick underwood at the edge of the clearing.

From Middle English underwode, continuing Old English underwudu, a transparent compound of under + wood. It names the lower woody growth beneath a forest's taller trees. The later proprietary use Underwood for a typewriter comes from the manufacturer's surname and is a separate proper-name history.

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