Does Monte mean woods?
Diccionario Espasa says monte alto is forest
Pocket Oxford spanish dictionary says Monte is woodlands
Collins-spanish dictionary also says it means woods
and Real Academia says Monte is a land covered by trees, bushes or plants/shrubs
So does Monte mean woods/woodlands?
4 Answers
Qfreed says regarding monte:
I would say that it's most common usage is in the names of mountains or as this article suggest mountain ranges.
But I would have to say that, in my experience, monte is most commonly used to refer to forested areas. As in English, the density of the trees in a forest (or monte) can vary greatly.
In my Oxford Spanish Dictionary under Monte (Spanish section)
Monte A (Geog) 1-> Mountain
Compuestos (compound phrases)
Monte alto = forest, woodland
Monte bajo =scrubland, bush
(English section)
B Wooded area (often pl) = bosque m
por ejemplo:
Fuimos a camino por el bosque
= We went for a walk through the wood(s)
As Gfreed rightly says, it depends on the context: that is, how you wish to use the word/words. Words in dictionaries are arranged with different meanings in brackets to indicate their change of emphasis according to the context.... and like with English or any language their meaning changes according to context.
It seems that you have asked this question a half dozen times before? I take it that you aren't getting a satisfactory answer? woodlands, forests, etc. aren't specific terms unless looked at in specific contexts. One person's concept of a woodland, could be another person's conception of a meadow with a few trees in it.
Notice in this dictionary it refers both to woodland and countryside (nebulous terms).
I would say that it's most common usage is in the names of mountains or as this article suggest mountain ranges.
my DIctionary of spoken spanish by US Armed Forces says this El monte era tan espeso que casi no se podía andar por él. The woods/forest was so thick that one could hardly walk through it.
