Wealden

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characteristic of the Weald, the wooded region of south-east England lying between the North and South Downs
2. Describing something from or belonging to the Weald, a historic forested area in the south-east of England
3. Pertaining to the Weald, the rural tract of Kent, Sussex and Surrey known for its woodland and clay soils

Etymology: The Weald is the wooded region of south-east England stretching between the North and South Downs, and its name is an old one. It comes from Old English "wald", meaning forest or high woodland, which is also the source of the word "weald" itself. The Old English word is related to the German "Wald", meaning forest, so the same root sits behind a German word for woodland and an English place name for a region once covered in dense trees. "Wealden" is simply the English adjective formed by adding the suffix "-en" to "Weald", so it means "of the Weald." Its use is mostly technical: geologists apply it to the layers of clay, sandstone and limestone that were laid down in the area during the Early Cretaceous, and the term "Wealden" is used for that rock sequence and the strata that compose it.