wunder · Library

Part 881

The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section a and B · Project Gutenberg — chapter 881 of 897 · ~913 words · public domain

Read in the Wunder reader — free

2. Specifically: To cover out of sight, as the body of a deceased person, in a grave, a tomb, or the ocean; to deposit (a corpse) in its resting place, with funeral ceremonies; to inter; to inhume.

Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Matt. viii. 21.

I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave. Shak.

3. To hide in oblivion; to put away finally; to abandon; as, to bury strife.

Give me a bowl of wine In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. Shak.

Burying beetle (Zoöl.), the general name of many species of beetles, of the tribe Necrophaga; the sexton beetle; -- so called from their habit of burying small dead animals by digging away the earth beneath them. The larvæ feed upon decaying flesh, and are useful scavengers. -- To bury the hatchet, to lay aside the instruments of war, and make peace; -- a phrase used in allusion to the custom observed by the North American Indians, of burying a tomahawk when they conclude a peace.

Syn. -- To intomb; inter; inhume; inurn; hide; cover; conceal; overwhelm; repress.

{ Bur"y*ing ground`, Bur"y*ing place }. The ground or place for burying the dead; burial place.

Bus (&?;), n. [Abbreviated from omnibus.] An omnibus. [Colloq.]

Bus"by (bz"b), n.; pl. Busbies (bz). (Mil.) A military headdress or cap, used in the British army. It is of fur, with a bag, of the same color as the facings of the regiment, hanging from the top over the right shoulder.

||Bus"con (&?;), n. [Sp., a searcher, fr. buscar to search.] One who searches for ores; a prospector. [U.S.]

Bush (&?;), n. [OE. bosch, busch, buysch, bosk, busk; akin to D. bosch, OHG. busc, G. busch, Icel. bskr, bski, Dan. busk, Sw. buske, and also to LL. boscus, buscus, Pr. bosc, It. bosco, Sp. & Pg. bosque, F. bois, OF. bos. Whether the LL. or G. form is the original is uncertain; if the LL., it is perh. from the same source as E. box a case. Cf. Ambush, Boscage, Bouquet, Box a case.] 1. A thicket, or place abounding in trees or shrubs; a wild forest.

This was the original sense of the word, as in the Dutch bosch, a wood, and was so used by Chaucer. In this sense it is extensively used in the British colonies, especially at the Cape of Good Hope, and also in Australia and Canada; as, to live or settle in the bush.

2. A shrub; esp., a shrub with branches rising from or near the root; a thick shrub or a cluster of shrubs.

To bind a bush of thorns among sweet-smelling flowers. Gascoigne.

3. A shrub cut off, or a shrublike branch of a tree; as, bushes to support pea vines.

4. A shrub or branch, properly, a branch of ivy (as sacred to Bacchus), hung out at vintners' doors, or as a tavern sign; hence, a tavern sign, and symbolically, the tavern itself.

If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 't is true that a good play needs no epilogue. Shak.

5. (Hunting) The tail, or brush, of a fox.

To beat about the bush, to approach anything in a round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; -- a metaphor taken from hunting. -- Bush bean (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and requires no support (Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus). See Bean, 1. -- Bush buck, or Bush goat (Zoöl.), a beautiful South African antelope (Tragelaphus sylvaticus); -- so called because found mainly in wooden localities. The name is also applied to other species. -- Bush cat (Zoöl.), the serval. See Serval. -- Bush chat (Zoöl.), a bird of the genus Pratincola, of the Thrush family. -- Bush dog. (Zoöl.) See Potto. -- Bush hammer. See Bushhammer in the Vocabulary. -- Bush harrow (Agric.) See under Harrow. -- Bush hog (Zoöl.), a South African wild hog (Potamochœrus Africanus); -- called also bush pig, and water hog. -- Bush master (Zoöl.), a venomous snake (Lachesis mutus) of Guinea; -- called also surucucu. -- Bush pea (Bot.), a variety of pea that needs to be bushed. -- Bush shrike (Zoöl.), a bird of the genus Thamnophilus, and allied genera; -- called also batarg. Many species inhabit tropical America. -- Bush tit (Zoöl.), a small bird of the genus Psaltriparus, allied to the titmouse. P. minimus inhabits California.

Bush (&?;), v. i. To branch thickly in the manner of a bush. "The bushing alders." Pope.

Bush, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bushed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bushing.] 1. To set bushes for; to support with bushes; as, to bush peas.

2. To use a bush harrow on (land), for covering seeds sown; to harrow with a bush; as, to bush a piece of land; to bush seeds into the ground.

Bush, n. [D. bus a box, akin to E. box; or F. boucher to plug.] 1. (Mech.) A lining for a hole to make it smaller; a thimble or ring of metal or wood inserted in a plate or other part of machinery to receive the wear of a pivot or arbor. Knight.

In the larger machines, such a piece is called a box, particularly in the United States.

2. (Gun.) A piece of copper, screwed into a gun, through which the venthole is bored. Farrow.

Bush, v. t. To furnish with a bush, or lining; as, to bush a pivot hole.

Bush"boy (&?;), n. See Bushman.

← Previous chapterAll chaptersNext chapter →

The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section a and B · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.

© 2026 Wunder Learning LLC · Terms & Privacy