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rainforest

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rain forest

–noun
a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall.
Also, rainforest.


Origin:
1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rain·for·est or rain forest   (rān'fôr'ĭst, fŏr'-)   
n.  A dense evergreen forest with an annual rainfall of at least 406 centimeters (160 inches). Rainforests are often, but not always, located in tropical regions.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rain forest 
1903, apparently a loan-translation of Ger. Regenwald, coined by A.F.W. Schimper for his 1898 work "Pflanzengeographie," and used first in the Eng. translation of it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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