Woodwall

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A wall constructed from timber or wooden boards, used to enclose or divide a space
2. Any barrier or partition made of lumber, planks or other wood materials
3. A structure of wooden panels or logs raised to form the side of a building or enclosure

Etymology: "Woodwall" is a plain compound: "wood" joined to "wall," meaning a wall or barrier made of timber. Its earlier form was Middle English "wodewale," and the record of its origin is uncertain. Scholars generally think it probably comes from Old English, though it may instead have come from Middle Dutch "wedewale," in which the first element was later reshaped to look like the English "wood." The uncertainty is the most interesting part of the story. Both possible sources describe the same idea, a wall built from wood, so whichever language supplied the word, the meaning stayed the same. Over the centuries the form settled into the single word used today.