A mountain pasture or area of upland grazing land, especially in Scotland; also, a portion of such pasture assigned to a particular flock of sheep.
From Old English 'hæf' or related Scandinavian roots meaning 'custody' or 'keeping.' Used in Scottish English for centuries to describe the customary grazing territories managed by shepherds.
Scottish sheep farmers have such intimate knowledge of their 'heafs' that sheep return to the same pasture for generations—it's an inherited cultural geography written into animal behavior!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.