Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- A lowland district of eastern England west and south of the Wash. Early attempts by the Romans to drain the area were abandoned by Anglo-Saxon times. Modern-day reclamation of the Fens began in the 1600s.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A
marshy area in eastern England
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Fens.
Examples
-
I had already corrected 'rock o' the fens 'to the correct' reek o 'the fens' although Rock o 'the Fens is a good fantasy name!
Why Science Fiction Authors Can't Win Lou Anders 2009
-
The Fens was a park laid out around a dead-river pond, a city oasis glowing hormonally emerald in the full-on puberty of spring.
The Town Chuck Hogan 2004
-
Tim Melville, the EA's asset system management officer, said: "Protecting people, property and land in the Fens is our priority so keeping the silt away from the sluices means we can operate them more effectively.
EDP24 News 2009
-
I am interested in Edward Powell aka 'Anderson of the Fens' born 1608 d 1642??
Discourse.net: Cambridge University -- the Unauthorised History 2009
-
Oliver Cromwell was nicknamed "Lord of the Fens" when he was MP for (variously) Cambridge and Huntingdon.
Discourse.net: Cambridge University -- the Unauthorised History 2009
-
Now David Callaby has defected so soon after, said this Mandela of the Fens.
Hugh Muir's diary 2011
-
Along with the bitterns, it is hoped new reed beds in the Fens will help secure the future of marsh harriers, snipe, reed buntings, bearded tits and warblers.
Bittern in booming good health in England's quarries and wetlands 2011
-
At this point in time, Cambridge was emerging as a powerful place of learning with important royal links, even if it was still a somewhat disorganized collection of scholars who were only just beginning to occupy their own buildings in a small town surrounded by an unhygienic swamp that would only later be drained and cultivated as the Fens.
-
Among sites where the bitterns are doing well is Needingworth quarry in the Cambridgeshire Fens where Hanson Aggregates is working with the RSPB to create one of the largest wetland habitats in Europe.
Bittern in booming good health in England's quarries and wetlands 2011
-
Charles's action in having the Fens (low-lying common land) drained destroyed the lifestyle and only economic support of the people who lived there in order to sell off the drained land to cronies for cash he couldn't get from Parliament.
Discourse.net: Cambridge University -- the Unauthorised History 2009
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.