Rangeland

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An area of land mainly designated for livestock grazing, often dominated by indigenous plants suitable for animal feed
2. A landscape utilized predominantly for the grazing of livestock, featuring native vegetation that supports animal husbandry and encompasses areas of natural grasses and shrubs
3. Terrain primarily reserved for grazing animals, characterized by natural vegetation adapted for feeding livestock

Etymology: "Rangeland" is a plain compound of "range" and "land," and its history is simple. "Range" in its older sense meant an open area of country over which animals could roam and feed, a sense that grew out of the verb "range," to wander or move about freely. Joining it to "land" produced a term for terrain used for grazing rather than farming. The sense of "range" as open ground for livestock is what gives the compound its meaning. Where a field is fenced and cultivated, it is not rangeland; the word describes land whose value lies in what it lets animals eat while they roam across it. The two parts keep their ordinary meanings, and together they name a particular kind of landscape.

Synonyms: pasture, grassland, meadow, savanna, prairie

Antonyms: urban area, city, town, settlement, developed land