Definition of the word warren

The word "warren" originally referred to a place where rabbits or other small game animals were bred and kept. The term is derived from the Old French "warrene" meaning "hutch" or "rabbit hutch." In medieval times, these hutches were built in close proximity, resembling burrows or dens, which gave the name "warren" to the entire area where these small animals were kept. The use of "warren" to denote a rabbit breeding ground gradually expanded to refer to any densely populated place, particularly housing developments with small, densely arranged buildings, where inhabitants sometimes seemed to proliferate as freely as bunnies.