Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Bushelman noun A tailor's assistant for repairing garments; -- called also busheler . [ Local, U.S.]
Bushet noun [ See
Bosket .]
A small bush.
Bushfighter noun One accustomed to bushfighting. Parkman.
Bushfighting noun Fighting in the bush, or from behind bushes, trees, or thickets.
Bushhammer noun A hammer with a head formed of a bundle of square bars, with pyramidal points, arranged in rows, or a solid head with a face cut into a number of rows of such points; -- used for dressing stone.
Bushhammer transitive verb To dress with bushhammer; as, to bushhammer a block of granite.
Bushido (bō"shē`dō`)
noun [ Jap.
bu military +
shi knight +
dō way, doctrine, principle.]
The unwritten code of moral principles regulating the actions of the Japanese knighthood, or Samurai; the chivalry of Japan. Unformulated, Bushido was and still is the animating spirit, the motor force of our country.
Inazo Nitobé.
Bushiness noun The condition or quality of being bushy.
Bushing noun [ See 4th
Bush .]
1. The operation of fitting bushes, or linings, into holes or places where wear is to be received, or friction diminished, as pivot holes, etc. 2. (Mech.) A bush or lining; -- sometimes called a thimble . See 4th Bush .
Bushless adjective Free from bushes; bare. O'er the long backs of the bushless downs.
Tennyson.
Bushman noun ;
plural Bushmen [ Confer Dutch
boschman ,
boschjesman . See 1st
Bush .]
1. A woodsman; a settler in the bush. 2. (Ethnol.) One of a race of South African nomads, living principally in the deserts, and not classified as allied in race or language to any other people.
Bushment noun [ Middle English busshement ambush, from bush .]
1. A thicket; a cluster of bushes. [ Obsolete] Raleigh. 2. An ambuscade. [ Obsolete] Sir T. More.
Bushranger noun One who roams, or hides, among the bushes; especially, in Australia, an escaped criminal living in the bush.
Bushwhacker noun 1. One accustomed to beat about, or travel through, bushes. [ U.S.]
They were gallant bushwhackers , and hunters of raccoons by moonlight.
W. Irving.
2. A guerrilla; a marauding assassin; one who pretends to be a peaceful citizen, but secretly harasses a hostile force or its sympathizers. [ U.S.]
Farrow.
Bushwhacking noun
1. Traveling, or working a way, through bushes; pulling by the bushes, as in hauling a boat along the bushy margin of a stream. [ U.S.] T. Flint. 2. The crimes or warfare of bushwhackers. [ U.S.]
Bushy adjective [ From 1st
Bush .]
1. Thick and spreading, like a bush. "
Bushy eyebrows."
Irving. 2. Full of bushes; overgrowing with shrubs. Dingle, or bushy dell, of this wild wood.
Milton.
Busily adverb In a busy manner.
Business noun ;
plural Businesses [ From
Busy .]
1. That which busies one, or that which engages the time, attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time; constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business of life; business before pleasure. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ?
Luke ii. 49.
2. Any particular occupation or employment engaged in for livelihood or gain, as agriculture, trade, art, or a profession. "The
business of instruction."
Prescott. 3. Financial dealings; buying and selling; traffic in general; mercantile transactions. It seldom happens that men of a studious turn acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge of business .
Bp. Popteus.
4. That which one has to do or should do; special service, duty, or mission. The daughter of the King of France,
On serious business , craving quick despatch,
Importunes personal conference.
Shak.
What business has the tortoise among the clouds?
L'Estrange.
5. Affair; concern; matter; -- used in an indefinite sense, and modified by the connected words. It was a gentle business , and becoming
The action of good women.
Shak.
Bestow
Your needful counsel to our business .
Shak.
6. (Drama) The position, distribution, and order of persons and properties on the stage of a theater, as determined by the stage manager in rehearsal. 7. Care; anxiety; diligence. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. To do one's business ,
to ruin one. [ Colloq.]
Wycherley. --
To make (a thing) one's business ,
to occupy one's self with a thing as a special charge or duty. [ Colloq.] --
To mean business ,
to be earnest. [ Colloq.]
Syn. -- Affairs; concern; transaction; matter; engagement; employment; calling; occupation; trade; profession; vocation; office; duty.
Businesslike adjective In the manner of one transacting business wisely and by right methods.
Busk (bŭsk)
noun [ French
busc , perhaps from the hypothetical older form of English
bois wood, because the first busks were made of wood. See
Bush , and confer Old French
busche , French
bûche , a piece or log of wood, from the same root.]
A thin, elastic strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset. Her long slit sleeves, stiff busk , puff verdingall,
Is all that makes her thus angelical.
Marston.
Busk transitive verb & i. [
imperfect & past participle Busked (bŭskt).] [ Middle English
busken , from Icelandic
būask to make one's self ready, rexlexive of
būa to prepare, dwell. Confer 8th
Bound .]
1. To prepare; to make ready; to array; to dress. [ Scot. & Old Eng.]
Busk you, busk you, my bonny, bonny bride.
Hamilton.
2. To go; to direct one's course. [ Obsolete]
Ye might have busked you to Huntly banks.
Skelton.
Busk (bŭsk) noun Among the Creek Indians, a feast of first fruits celebrated when the corn is ripe enough to be eaten. The feast usually continues four days. On the first day the new fire is lighted, by friction of wood, and distributed to the various households, an offering of green corn, including an ear brought from each of the four quarters or directions, is consumed, and medicine is brewed from snakeroot. On the second and third days the men physic with the medicine, the women bathe, the two sexes are taboo to one another, and all fast. On the fourth day there are feasting, dancing, and games.
Busked adjective Wearing a busk. Pollok.
Busket noun [ See
Bosket ,
Bouquet .]
1. A small bush; also, a sprig or bouquet. [ Obsolete]
Spenser. 2. A part of a garden devoted to shrubs. [ R.]
Buskin noun [ Prob. from Old French
brossequin , or Dutch
broosken . See
Brodekin .]
1. A strong, protecting covering for the foot, coming some distance up the leg. The hunted red deer's undressed hide
Their hairy buskins well supplied.
Sir W. Scott.
2. A similar covering for the foot and leg, made with very thick soles, to give an appearance of elevation to the stature; - - worn by tragic actors in ancient Greece and Rome. Used as a symbol of tragedy, or the tragic drama, as distinguished from comedy. Great Fletcher never treads in buskins here,
No greater Jonson dares in socks appear.
Dryden.
Buskined adjective 1. Wearing buskins. Her buskined virgins traced the dewy lawn.
Pope.
2. Trodden by buskins; pertaining to tragedy. "The
buskined stage."
Milton.
Busky adjective See Bosky , and 1st Bush , noun Shak.
Buss noun [ Middle English basse , from Latin basium ; confer German bus ( Luther ), Prov. German busserl , dim. of bus kiss, bussen to kiss, Swedish puss kiss, pussa to kiss, W. & Gael. bus lip, mouth.] A kiss; a rude or playful kiss; a smack. Shak.
Buss (bŭs)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Bussed (bŭst);
present participle & verbal noun Bussing .]
To kiss; esp. to kiss with a smack, or rudely. "Nor
bussed the milking maid."
Tennyson. Kissing and bussing differ both in this,
We buss our wantons, but our wives we kiss.
Herrick.
Buss noun [ Confer Old French
busse , Pr.
bus , Late Latin
bussa ,
busa , German
büse , Dutch
buis .]
(Nautical) A small strong vessel with two masts and two cabins; -- used in the herring fishery. The Dutch whalers and herring busses .
Macaulay.
Bust (bŭst)
noun [ French
buste , from Italian
busto ; confer Late Latin
busta ,
bustula , box, of the same origin as English
box a case; confer , for the change of meaning, English
chest . See
Bushel .]
1. A piece of sculpture representing the upper part of the human figure, including the head, shoulders, and breast. Ambition sighed: she found it vain to trust
The faithless column, and the crumbling bust .
Pope.
2. The portion of the human figure included between the head and waist, whether in statuary or in the person; the chest or thorax; the upper part of the trunk of the body.
Bustard (bŭs"tẽrd) noun [ Old French & Prov. French bistarde , French outarde , from Latin avis tarda , lit., slow bird. Plin. 10, 22 ; "proximæ iis sunt, quas Hispania aves tardas appellat, Græcia 'wti`das ."] (Zoology) A bird of the genus Otis . » The great or bearded bustard ( Otis tarda ) is the largest game bird in Europe. It inhabits the temperate regions of Europe and Asia, and was formerly common in Great Britain. The little bustard ( O. tetrax ) inhabits eastern Europe and Morocco. Many other species are known in Asia and Africa.
Buster (bŭs"tẽr) noun Something huge; a roistering blade; also, a spree. [ Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.
Bustle (bŭs"s'l)
intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Bustled (-s'ld);
present participle &
vb .
noun Bustling (-slĭng).] [ Confer Middle English
buskle , perhaps from Anglo-Saxon
bysig busy,
bysg-ian to busy + the verbal termination
-le ; or Icelandic
bustla to splash, bustle.]
To move noisily; to be rudely active; to move in a way to cause agitation or disturbance; as, to bustle through a crowd. And leave the world for me to bustle in.
Shak.
Bustle noun Great stir; agitation; tumult from stirring or excitement. A strange bustle and disturbance in the world.
South.
Bustle noun A kind of pad or cushion worn on the back below the waist, by women, to give fullness to the skirts; -- called also bishop , and tournure .
Bustler (bŭs"slẽr) noun An active, stirring person.
Bustling (bŭs"slĭng) adjective Agitated; noisy; tumultuous; characterized by confused activity; as, a bustling crowd. "A bustling wharf." Hawthorne.
Busto noun ;
plural Bustoes [ Italian ]
A bust; a statue. With some antick bustoes in the niches.
Ashmole.
Busy (bĭz"zȳ)
adjective [ Middle English
busi ,
bisi , Anglo-Saxon
bysig ; akin to Dutch
bezig , LG.
besig ; confer Sanskrit
bhūsh to be active, busy.]
1. Engaged in some business; hard at work (either habitually or only for the time being); occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant. Sir, my mistress sends you word
That she is busy , and she can not come.
Shak.
2. Constantly at work; diligent; active. Busy hammers closing rivets up.
Shak.
Religious motives . . . are so busy in the heart.
Addison.
3. Crowded with business or activities; -- said of places and times; as, a busy street. To-morrow is a busy day.
Shak.
4. Officious; meddling; foolish active. On meddling monkey, or on busy ape.
Shak.
5. Careful; anxious. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. Syn. -- Diligent; industrious; assiduous; active; occupied; engaged.
Busy (bĭz"zȳ)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Busied (bĭz"zĭd);
present participle & verbal noun Busying .] [ Anglo-Saxon
bysgian .]
To make or keep busy; to employ; to engage or keep engaged; to occupy; as, to busy one's self with books. Be it thy course to busy giddy minds
With foreign quarrels.
Shak.
Busybody (-bŏd`ȳ)
noun ;
plural Busybodies (-bŏd`ĭz).
One who officiously concerns himself with the affairs of others; a meddling person. And not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies , speaking things which they ought not.
1 Tim. v. 13.
But (bŭt)
preposition ,
adverb & conj. [ Middle English
bute ,
buten , Anglo-Saxon
būtan , without, on the outside, except, besides; prefix
be- +
ūtan outward, without, from
ūt out. Primarily,
būtan , as well as
ūt , is an adverb. √198. See
By ,
Out ; confer
About .]
1. Except with; unless with; without. [ Obsolete]
So insolent that he could not go but either spurning equals or trampling on his inferiors.
Fuller.
Touch not the cat but a glove.
Motto of the Mackintoshes.
2. Except; besides; save. Who can it be, ye gods! but perjured Lycon?
E. Smith.
» In this sense,
but is often used with other particles; as,
but for , without, had it not been for. "Uncreated
but for love divine."
Young. 3. Excepting or excluding the fact that; save that; were it not that; unless; -- elliptical, for but that . And but my noble Moor is true of mind . . . it were enough to put him to ill thinking.
Shak.
4. Otherwise than that; that not; -- commonly, after a negative, with that . It cannot be but nature hath some director, of infinite power, to guide her in all her ways.
Hooker.
There is no question but the king of Spain will reform most of the abuses.
Addison.
5. Only; solely; merely. Observe but how their own principles combat one another.
Milton.
If they kill us, we shall but die.
2 Kings vii. 4.
A formidable man but to his friends.
Dryden.
6. On the contrary; on the other hand; only; yet; still; however; nevertheless; more; further; -- as connective of sentences or clauses of a sentence, in a sense more or less exceptive or adversative; as, the House of Representatives passed the bill, but the Senate dissented; our wants are many, but quite of another kind. Now abideth faith hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
1 Cor. xiii. 13.
When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom.
Prov. xi. 2.
All but .
See under All . --
But and if ,
but if; an attempt on the part of King James's translators of the Bible to express the conjunctive and adversative force of the Greek .... But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; . . . the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him.
Luke xii. 45, 46.
But if ,
unless. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. But this I read, that but if remedy
Thou her afford, full shortly I her dead shall see.
Spenser.
Syn. --
But ,
However ,
Still . These conjunctions mark
opposition in passing from one thought or topic to another.
But marks the opposition with a medium degree of strength; as, this is not winter,
but it is almost as cold; he requested my assistance,
but I shall not aid him at present.
However is weaker, and throws the opposition (as it were) into the background; as, this is not winter; it is,
however , almost as cold; he required my assistance; at present,
however , I shall not afford him aid. The plan,
however , is still under consideration, and may yet be adopted.
Still is stronger than
but , and marks the opposition more emphatically; as, your arguments are weighty;
still they do not convince me. See
Except ,
However . » "The chief error with
but is to use it where
and is enough; an error springing from the tendency to use strong words without sufficient occasion."
Bain.
But noun [ Confer
But ,
preposition , adverb & conj. ]
The outer apartment or kitchen of a two-roomed house; -- opposed to ben , the inner room. [ Scot.]
But noun [ See 1st
But .]
1. A limit; a boundary. 2. The end; esp. the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end. See 1st Butt . But end ,
the larger or thicker end; as, the but end of a log; the but end of a musket. See Butt , noun
But intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Butted ;
present participle & verbal noun Butting .]
See Butt , v. , and Abut , v.
Butane noun [ Latin
but yrum butter. See
Butter .]
(Chemistry) An inflammable gaseous hydrocarbon, C4H10, of the marsh gas, or paraffin, series.
Butcher noun [ Middle English
bochere ,
bochier , Old French
bochier , French
boucher , orig., slaughterer of buck goats, from Old French
boc , French
bouc , a buck goat; of German or Celtic origin. See
Buck the animal.]
1. One who slaughters animals, or dresses their flesh for market; one whose occupation it is to kill animals for food. 2. A slaughterer; one who kills in large numbers, or with unusual cruelty; one who causes needless loss of life, as in battle. "
Butcher of an innocent child."
Shak. Butcher bird (Zoology) ,
a species of shrike of the genus Lanius . » The
Lanius excubitor is the common butcher bird of Europe. In England, the bearded tit is sometimes called the
lesser butcher bird . The American species are
Latin borealis , or
northern butcher bird , and
Latin Ludovicianus or
loggerhead shrike . The name
butcher bird is derived from its habit of suspending its prey impaled upon thorns, after killing it.
Butcher's meat ,
such flesh of animals slaughtered for food as is sold for that purpose by butchers, as beef, mutton, lamb, and pork.
Butcher transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Butchered ;
present participle & verbal noun Butchering .]
1. To kill or slaughter (animals) for food, or for market; as, to butcher hogs. 2. To murder, or kill, especially in an unusually bloody or barbarous manner. Macaulay. [ Ithocles] was murdered, rather butchered .
Ford.
Butchering noun 1. The business of a butcher. 2. The act of slaughtering; the act of killing cruelly and needlessly. That dreadful butchering of one another.
Addison.