shaw

The word “shaw” means (dialectal, British) A small wood or thicket. In plain terms, an old dialect word for a small patch of woodland, rarely used today outside place names.

“Shaw” is pronounced shaw (/ʃɔ/ in IPA).

Here is “shaw” used in a sentence: “The path led through a shaw at the edge of the field.”

“Shaw” is a noun.

The word “shaw” comes from Old English. From Old English sċeaga, "small wood," related to Old Norse skógr, "forest" (the source of Danish skov).

“Shaw” is a fairly common word in modern English.

Both name a small group of trees. Copse is the standard English word for a small wood, while shaw is a British dialect word with much the same meaning. In everyday writing copse is the usual choice; shaw survives mainly in regional speech and in names.

As an everyday word for a small wood or thicket, shaw is now rare and mainly dialectal in Britain. It survives most visibly in surnames and in place names, particularly those ending in -shaw, many of which originally referred to a small wood.

A thicket is a dense tangle of bushes or small trees, emphasising how thick the growth is. A shaw is a dialect word for a small wood or thicket, so it overlaps with thicket but can also name a modest stand of trees that is not especially dense.