noun
hammock
A raised wooded area in marshy land.
Tall oaks grow on a hammock surrounded by marsh grass.
Etymology
This landscape name is a regional form related to hummock, a small rise or knoll. In wet country, the elevated patch can support trees, producing the specialized sense of a wooded rise amid marshland.
More examples
- We follow the boardwalk to a shady hammock in the swamp.
- These hammocks stay dry when the surrounding marsh floods.
- Deer rest beneath the trees on the hammock.
Forms
hammock · hammocks
Similar words
- hummock
- A small raised mound, not necessarily wooded or in marshland.