Forest of Dense Trees

The word "forest" was borrowed by Middle English from Old French and Medieval Latin forestis, literally meaning "outside". Uses of the word "forest" in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaicThe word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (appearing in Latin texts like the Magna Carta) denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for hunting by feudal nobility (see Royal Forest).These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all. However, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word "forest" eventually came to mean wooded land more generally.[citation needed] By the start of the fourteenth century the word appeared in English texts, indicating all three senses: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage