Emily Dickinson Lexicon

forest (-s), n. [OFr < L. foris, outside.]

1. Wood; grove of trees; [fig.] hope; dream of home.
2. Plantation; plat of oak trees; [fig.] domain; dominion; further expanse.
3. Group of trees; [fig.] thought; intelligence; truth; living creature; sentient being.
4. Wilderness area; uncultivated section of nature; expanse of land bearing trees and other green plants.
5. Living thing; organic mass of large plants that grow upward towards the light of day.
6. Glade; dell; dingle; natural resort; place of shade; wildlife refuge; area in nature that can foster repose.
7. Phrase. “Forest of the Dead”: cemetery; graveyard; burial ground.