warren

noun6

1. •
   an area of ground where rabbits or other small animals have made many joined homes under the surface

   • The largest warren in group 9 had 10 entrances in use and 11 not in use. — 1986
2. •
   (figurative) A mazelike place of passages and/or rooms in which it's easy to lose oneself; especially one that may be overcrowded.

   • We piled into Manchester's car, leaving mine at the gallery, and crossed town, striking off the main road and into a warren of dirt roads and adobe. — 1984
3. •
   A structure where rabbits are kept as pets or for food, etc; the rabbits living in such a structure.
4. •
   A place legally authorized for the keeping, breeding and hunting of beasts of warren, especially rabbits.

   • This warren is the flat at the summit of an exceedingly high mountain, and consists of, I think, the very worst land I ever saw in my life. — 1888
5. •
   (historical) The right to maintain and hunt an area of small beasts, similar to a free warren, but with certain limitations, such as restricting the right to hunt on parts of the land held by freeholders.

   • The defendant has pleaded a warren in gross: he does not make it appendant or appurtenant. He shews merely that Charles I. granted a free warren, as he might do. — 1910
6. •
   (no longer used) The class of small game such as hare, pheasants, stoats, etc., as opposed to beasts of chase such as deer, bear, and foxes.

   • Grouse are not birds of warren ( 2 ); and trespass on a free warren will not lie for shooting them . — 1844

noun1

1. •
   A geographic region in southern Western Australia.