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wilderness
wilderness land retaining its primeval character with the imprint of humans minimal or unnoticeable. In the United States, the Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System with a nucleus of 9 million acres (3.6 million hectares) of land in 54 different areas, mostly in Western states, and provided for the designation of new wilderness areas. By 1992, the total had risen to 95 million acres (38.4 million hectares) in 708 parcels of land. Alaska, with 57.6 million acres (23.3 million hectares), was by far the leading repository of wilderness; Ohio had but 77 acres, and some states had none, although designated areas included several Eastern locations where signs of civilization were substantially erased. Wilderness lands are to be preserved in their natural condition, wild and undeveloped, both for their own sake and for humankind's solitude and enjoyment of their beauty. The idea of wilderness has deep roots in American thought (see environmentalism ). In the 17th cent. William Penn decreed that one acre of forest be left wild for every five that were cleared. Henry David Thoreau believed that the existence of wilderness was justified by the inspiration people could draw from it.
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"wilderness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wilderness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wilderne.html "wilderness." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-wilderne.html |
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wilderness
wilderness Desert area of sand or rock—but also sloping ground unsuitable for cereals but possible for grazing cattle or sheep (Exod. 3: 1). It was a much treasured tradition of the Hebrews that their forefathers had wandered for ‘forty years’ following the Exodus from Egypt, after complaining in the wastes of Sinai (Deut. 8: 15). In retrospect this became idealized as a time of incorruption (Hos. 2: 14–15). Jesus spent ‘forty days’ in the wilderness (Matt. 4: 1–11) tempted by Satan to doubt his mission and visited by the wild beasts (Mark 1: 13) who roamed the wildernesses (Ezek. 34: 25). The Qumran monastery was established in the wilderness in the light of Isa. 40: 3; members of the Community were preparing ‘a highway for their God’.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "wilderness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "wilderness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-wilderness.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "wilderness." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-wilderness.html |
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wilderness
wilderness An extensive area of land which has never been permanently occupied by humans or subjected to their intensive use (e.g. for mineral extraction or cultivation) and which exists in a natural or nearly natural state. Wilderness areas are selected for their ecological wholeness, rather than for the presence of any particular biota, landscape, or recreational attraction. In the USA, where wilderness areas have been formally designated, no economic use is allowed except by presidential decree in extreme emergency. The areas are free from traffic, and the number and activities of visitors are carefully controlled. Elsewhere, the concept merges with that of national parks, wilderness areas often being zones of more restricted public access within the park areas.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-wilderness.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-wilderness.html |
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wilderness
wilderness An extensive area of land that has never been permanently occupied by humans or subjected to their intensive use (e.g. for mineral extraction or cultivation) and that exists in a natural, or nearly natural state. Wilderness areas are selected for their ecological wholeness, rather than for the presence of any particular biota, landscape, or recreational attraction. In the USA, where wilderness areas have been formally designated, no economic use is allowed except by presidential decree in extreme emergency. The areas are free from traffic, and the number and activities of visitors are carefully controlled. Elsewhere, the concept merges with that of national parks, wilderness areas often being zones of more restricted public access within the park areas.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-wilderness.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-wilderness.html |
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wilderness
wilderness Battle of the Wilderness in the American Civil War (5–7 May, 1864), a battle between the Union army under Grant and the Confederates under Robert E. Lee. Fighting took place in a wooded area, known as the Wilderness, and many of the wounded died in the burning undergrowth. After two days, Grant moved his troops on to Spotsylvania.
in the wilderness of a politician or political party, out of office, removed from influence; originally with allusion to Numbers 14:33 a voice in the wilderness an unheeded advocate of reform, originally in allusion to the words of John the Baptist in John 1:23. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wilderness." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wilderness." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wilderness.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "wilderness." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-wilderness.html |
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wilderness
wilderness.
1. Ornamental and agreeable landscape, neither wild nor deserted, carefully planned and tended, planted with trees to form a grove or wood with paths cut through it, often designed in a fantastic way, frequently with a maze. 2. Bosket. 3. Land giving the appearance of being wild or uncultivated, a variant on the idea of the desert. 4. Informally laid out woodland of mixed species and wild ?owers, with paths and open areas running through it. Bibliography Coffin (1994); |
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-wilderness.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "wilderness." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-wilderness.html |
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wilderness
wil·der·ness / ˈwildərnis/ • n. [usu. in sing.] an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region. ∎ a neglected or abandoned area of a garden or town. ∎ fig. a position of disfavor, esp. in a political context: the man who led the Green Party out of the wilderness | [as adj.] his wilderness years. PHRASES: a voice in the wilderness an unheeded advocate of reform (see Matt. 3:3, etc.) |
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"wilderness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "wilderness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wilderness010.html "wilderness." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-wilderness010.html |
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Wilderness
Wildernessa mingled confusion; a large number of people, animals, or things, 1588. Examples: wilderness of interminable air, 1821; of books, 1868; of more rare conceits, 1824; of enquiry, 1664; of faults or follies, 1775; of masts on the rivers, 1857; of monkeys, 1596; of sea, 1588; of steeples, 1857; of tigers, 1588; of trees, 1613; of waves, 1865; of wretches, 1616. |
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"Wilderness." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Wilderness." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301733.html "Wilderness." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301733.html |
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wilderness
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T. F. HOAD. "wilderness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "wilderness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wilderness.html T. F. HOAD. "wilderness." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-wilderness.html |
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