wildlandn.
/ˈwʌɪl(d)land/, /ˈwʌɪl(d)lənd/, U.S. /ˈwaɪl(d)ˌlænd/, /ˈwaɪl(d)lənd/ Land in a natural or uncultivated state (also in plural in same sense). Also: a region or tract of such land.In early use probably not a fixed collocation. In later use frequently used in contexts relating to the conservation or preservation of natural environments and habitats.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [noun]
westerneOE
weste landOE
wastinea1175
westec1175
wastec1200
wildernc1200
wildernessc1200
wildernessc1230
warlottc1290
forestc1320
wastyc1325
deserta1398
wastern?a1400
wildnessa1513
the wilds of1600
vastness1605
vastacy1607
roughet1616
wild1637
wildland1686
bush1780
wastage1823
mesquite1834
wasteland1887
mulga1896
virgin bush1905
boondock1944
boonies1954
virgin land1955
1686 W. Penn Information Persons inclined to Amer. 1/2 The produce of wild Land there in this respect, is within less then ten to one, of what our cleare-Land is here.
1739 J. Callender Hist. Disc. Rhode-Island 117 The very first Setlers, did not come here empty handed; but as their Stock..was by Degrees consumed, the produce of wild Lands was able to go but a little way.
1808 J. Walker Econ. Hist. Hebrides I. 162 There has..been more wild land in Scotland, reclaimed by means of lime, than by any other manure.
1928 Times 18 Feb. 7/6 So much wild land was coming under cultivation, that unless..drastic steps were taken to preserve distinctive fauna it must soon disappear entirely.
1996 Conservation Biol. 10 997/2 The commission also recommended several wildlands for protection, despite the potential for resource extraction.
2020 States News Service (Nexis) 27 July We need to put people to work..managing our wildlands, and preserving species in the face of increasing threats from wildfire and erosion and encroachment.
Compounds
General use as a modifier, as in wildland fire, wildland management, etc.
ΚΠ
1863 Jrnl. Gas Lighting, Water Supply, & Sanitary Improvem. 14 July 447/2 Sir Charles Wood's anxieties are directed to getting the utmost farthing for each acre, with such grasping exactness, that, if his rules were carried out, no sane man would ever stir up a step towards wild land reclamation.
1880 Hist. & Direct. Boroughs Adams County, Pa. 116 Fair Pennsylvania, than thy wildland vales, Lying 'twixt hills of green.
1963 Yearbk. Agric. 348/2 In..Planning for America's Wildlands, Mr. Carhart..proposed an orderliness in wildlands management to meet all needs..and..protect..the quality of wildness.
1994 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 5 Apr. 12 While designers and supporters of vast wildlands protection face an uphill battle, the thinking behind their efforts is gaining wider acceptance.
2000 C. J. Gorski & A. Farnsworth in C. D. Whiteman Mountain Meteorol. xiii. 237 Wildland fires consume large areas of forest and grasslands every year.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1686