Part 882

Bush"el (&?;), n. [OE. buschel, boischel, OF. boissel, bussel, boistel, F. boisseau, LL. bustellus; dim. of bustia, buxida (OF. boiste), fr. pyxida, acc. of L. pyxis box, Gr. &?;. Cf. Box.] 1. A dry measure, containing four pecks, eight gallons, or thirty-two quarts.

The Winchester bushel, formerly used in England, contained 2150.42 cubic inches, being the volume of a cylinder 18½ inches in internal diameter and eight inches in depth. The standard bushel measures, prepared by the United States Government and distributed to the States, hold each 77.6274 pounds of distilled water, at 39.8° Fahr. and 30 inches atmospheric pressure, being the equivalent of the Winchester bushel. The imperial bushel now in use in England is larger than the Winchester bushel, containing 2218.2 cubic inches, or 80 pounds of water at 62° Fahr.

2. A vessel of the capacity of a bushel, used in measuring; a bushel measure.

Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? Mark iv. 21.

3. A quantity that fills a bushel measure; as, a heap containing ten bushels of apples.

In the United States a large number of articles, bought and sold by the bushel, are measured by weighing, the number of pounds that make a bushel being determined by State law or by local custom. For some articles, as apples, potatoes, etc., heaped measure is required in measuring a bushel.

4. A large indefinite quantity. [Colloq.]

The worthies of antiquity bought the rarest pictures with bushels of gold, without counting the weight or the number of the pieces. Dryden.

5. The iron lining in the nave of a wheel. [Eng.] In the United States it is called a box. See 4th Bush.

Bush"el*age (&?;), n. A duty payable on commodities by the bushel. [Eng.]

Bush"el*man (&?;), n. A tailor's assistant for repairing garments; -- called also busheler. [Local, U.S.]

Bush"et (&?;), n. [See Bosket.] A small bush.

Bush"fight`er (&?;), n. One accustomed to bushfighting. Parkman.

Bush"fight`ing (&?;), n. Fighting in the bush, or from behind bushes, trees, or thickets.

Bush"ham`mer (&?;), n. 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.

Bush"ham`mer, v. t. To dress with bushhammer; as, to bushhammer a block of granite.

Bush"i*ness (&?;), n. The condition or quality of being bushy.

Bush"ing, n. [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.

Bush"less (&?;), a. Free from bushes; bare.

O'er the long backs of the bushless downs. Tennyson.

Bush"man (&?;), n.; pl. Bushmen (&?;). [Cf. D. 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.

Bush"ment (&?;), n. [OE. busshement ambush, fr. bush.] 1. A thicket; a cluster of bushes. [Obs.] Raleigh.

2. An ambuscade. [Obs.] Sir T. More.

Bush"ran`ger (&?;), n. One who roams, or hides, among the bushes; especially, in Australia, an escaped criminal living in the bush.

Bush"whack`er (&?;), n. 1. One accustomed to beat about, or travel through, bushes. [U.S.]

They were gallant bushwhackers, and hunters of raccoons by moonlight. W. Irving.