breastheight

English

Etymology

breast +‎ height

Noun

breastheight (uncountable)

1. (botany, forestry) The typical height above ground of an adult's breast, used as a reference height for measuring the diameters of trees.
   • 1949, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin (issue 201, page 38)

     Age class 60, Site III, has […] 630 trees 12 inches or more in diameter at breastheight.

   • 1910, Henry Solon Graves, The Woodsman's Handbook, page 76:

     When there is a bulge or other normal swelling at breastheight, the measurement should be taken just above and not below the obstructions.

Related terms

• dbh