Pinier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Covered in or abounding with pine trees, as a landscape or hillside might be
2. Having a more abundant growth of pine trees or a stronger resemblance to pine forest
3. Characterized by a greater presence of pine woodland or the sharp scent associated with it

Etymology: "Pinier" is simply the comparative of "piny," so it means "more piny," that is, covered in more pine trees or more full of pine-like scent. The more interesting story is in the stem. "Pine" traces back through Latin "pinus" and Proto-Italic "pīnos" to a Proto-Indo-European root, while Old English "pīn" and Middle English "pyne" show how the tree name entered the Germanic languages and then English. The adjective is built in the most ordinary way: "pine" plus the suffix "-y," which in Old English was "-iġ," meaning "having the quality of" or "full of." English has long used this suffix to turn nouns into adjectives such as "woody," "leafy," and "stony," so "piny" follows the same pattern. Its comparative "pinier" is formed by adding "-ier" to a two-syllable adjective ending in "-y," the regular English way of forming comparatives from such words.

Synonyms: resinous, evergreen