Link Centre Dictionary

bush

UK/bʊʃ/ US/bʉʃ/ common slang
noun (7) adjective (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

a low woody perennial plant usually having several major branches

Synonyms
2.
3.

dense vegetation consisting of stunted trees or bushes

Synonyms
4.
5.

United States electrical engineer who designed an early analogue computer and who led the scientific program of the United States during World War II (1890-1974)

Synonyms
6.

Vice President under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)

Synonyms
7.

adjective

1.

not of the highest quality or sophistication

Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

provide with a bushing

Origin

A semantic expansion of bush (see Etymology 1, archaic and dialectal sense of “thicket” or “small wood”), which survived in English dialects and London‐area toponyms (such as Shepherd’s Bush). In its native English form, the term inherently denoted a scrubby, localized feature. In British colonies, this specific sense was applied to the broader landscape, evolving into a mass noun for the wilderness. This development was likely reinforced by, or originated as a semantic loan from, the cognate older Dutch bosch (modern bos (“wood, forest”)), which had undergone a similar semantic shift in the Dutch settlements of North America (such as New Netherland) and later the Cape Colony. From the North American Dutch loan, English acquired the concept of “the bush” as a vast, untamed wilderness. Evidence of this early linguistic integration appears in late 17th‐century English records via compound calques from both major Dutch contact zones: the 1695 North American use of “bushloopers” (anglicized from Dutch boschlooper (“woods‐runner”)) and the 1699 Cape Colony reference to “Wild‐bush‐Men” (translating Cape Dutch Bosjesman). However, as an independent topographical noun describing the Sou...

Phrases

  • Alaskan bush Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • Australian bush hat Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • Bush 41
  • Bush 43
  • bush ague Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • bush aircraft Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • bush airline Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • bush antelope Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • bush baptist Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • bush bread Terms derived from bush (Etymology 3)
  • reducing bush

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.