WARREN  , properly an old

term of the English forest law, derived from the O . Fr. warenne, varenne, garenne (med . Lat. warenna, warir, to guard, cf . " ward "), and applied to one of the three lesser franchises, together with " chase " and " park," included under the highest franchise, the " forest," and ranking last in order of importance . The " beasts of warren " were the hare, the coney (i.e. rabbit), the pheasant and the partridge . The word thus became used of a piece of ground preserved for these beasts of warren . It is now applied loosely to any piece of ground, whether preserved or not, where rabbits breed (see FOREST LAWS) .