Phrase guide

drift of the forest

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌdɹɪft‿əv ðə ˈfɒɹɪst/
  • General-American: /ˌdɹɪft‿əv ðə ˈfɔɹəst/
  • General-American: /-ˈfɑ-/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒɹɪst
  • rhymes with -ɔɹəst
  • rhymes with -ɑɹəst

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of driving or herding cattle in a forest to a particular place in order to determine who they belong to and whether the owners have a right to common or pasture them in the forest, and whether any fines should be paid by those without such a right.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, historical

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From drift (“act of driving or herding cattle”) + of + the + forest.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: metsän eläinten ajo tarkistusta varten — act of driving or herding cattle in a forest to a particular place in order to determine who they belong to, etc.
  • Galician: rapa das bestas — act of driving or herding cattle in a forest to a particular place in order to determine who they belong to, etc.
  • Polish: zaganianie bydła do lasu — act of driving or herding cattle in a forest to a particular place in order to determine who they belong to, etc.