A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

bushel --- c.1330, measure of capacity containing four pecks or eight gallons, from O.Fr. boissel, probably from boisse, a grain measure based on Gallo-Romance *bostia "handful," from Gaulish *bosta "palm of the hand" (cf. Ir. bass, Bret. boz "the hollow of the hand"). The exact measure varied from place to place and according to commodity, and since c.1374 it has been used loosely to mean "a large quantity or number."

bushing --- metal sleeve fitted into a machine or hole, from bush "metal lining of the axle hole of a wheel or touch hole of a gun" (1566), from M.Du. busse "box" (cognate with the second element in blunderbuss).

bushwhacker --- 1809, Amer.Eng., lit. "one who beats the bushes" (to make his way through), perhaps modeled on Du. bosch-wachter "forest keeper." In American Civil War, "irregular who took to the woods" (1862), variously regarded as patriot guerillas or as freebooters.

business --- O.E. bisignisse (Northumbrian) "care, anxiety," from bisig "careful, anxious, busy, occupied" (see busy) + -ness. Sense of "work, occupation" is first recorded 1387. Sense of "trade, commercial engagements" is first attested 1727. Modern two-syllable pronunciation is 17c. Business card first attested 1840.

busk (n.) --- strip of wood, whalebone, etc., used in corset-making, 1591, from Fr. busc, of unknown origin, perhaps rel. to bois "wood" (see bush).

busk (v.) --- to prepare, to dress oneself, also "to go, set out," c.1300, probably from O.N. bua-sk, refl. of bua "to prepare" (see bound (adj.2)). Most common in northern M.E. and surviving chiefly in Scot. and northern dial. Related boun had the same senses in northern and Scottish M.E.

busker --- itinerant entertainer, 1857, from busk (v.) "to offer goods for sale only in bars and taprooms," 1851 (in Mayhew), probably from busk "to cruise as a pirate," which was used in a fig. sense by 1841, in ref. to people living shifless and peripatetic lives. The nautical term is attested from 1665 (in a general sense of "to tack, to beat to windward"), apparently from obs. Fr. busquer "to shift, filch, prowl," which is related to It. buscare "to filch, prowl," Sp. buscar (from O.Sp. boscar), perhaps originally from bosco "wood" (see bush), with a hunting notion of "beating a wood" to flush game. Busker mistakenly was derived from buskin in the stage sense.

buskin --- half boot, 1503, origin unknown, perhaps from O.Fr. brousequin or M.Du. brosekin "small leather boot." Figurative senses relating to tragedy are from the word being used (since 1570) to translate Gk. kothurnus, the high, thick-soled boot worn in Athenian tragedy; contrasted with sock, the low shoe worn by comedians.

buss --- a kiss, 1570, like Welsh and Gael. bus "kiss, lip," Fr. baiser "kiss" (from L. basiare), Sp. buz, Ger. dial. buss probably of imitative origin. Kissing and bussing differ both in this, We busse our wantons, but our wives we kisse. [Robert Herrick, "Hesperides," 1648]

bust (1) --- 1691, "sculpture of upper torso and head," from Fr. buste, from It. busto "upper body," from L. bustum "funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre," perhaps shortened from ambustum, neut. of ambustus "burned around," pp. of amburere "burn around, scorch," from ambi- "around" + urere "to burn." Sense development in It. probably from Etruscan custom of keeping dead person's ashes in urn shaped like the person when alive. Meaning "bosom" is 1819; busty is first attested 1944.

bust (2) --- variant of burst, 1764, Amer.Eng. Originally "frolic, spree;" sense of "sudden failure" is from 1842. The verb sense of "to burst" is first attested 1806; the slang meaning "demote" (especially in a military sense) is from 1918; that of "arrest" is from 1953. Buster is 1850, Amer.Eng. slang (originally Missouri/Arkansas) for something that takes one's breath away, hence "a roistering blade."

bustier --- 1979, from Fr., from buste "bust" (see bust (1)).

bustle (1) --- be active, 1362, frequentative of M.E. bresten "to rush, break," from O.E. bersten, infl. by O.N. buask "to make oneself ready." The noun is first attested 1622. Bustling, of a place, is first recorded 1880.

bustle (2) --- padding in a skirt, 1788, perhaps from Ger. Buschel "bunch, pad," or may be a special use of bustle (1) with ref. to "rustling motion."

busy --- O.E. bisig "careful, anxious, busy, occupied," cognate with O.Du. bezich, Low Ger. besig; no known connection with any other Gmc. or IE language. Still pronounced as in M.E., but for some unclear reason the spelling shifted to -u- in 15c. The word was a euphemism for "sexually active" in 17c. Of telephone lines, 1893. In M.E., sometimes with a sense of "prying, meddlesome," preserved in busybody (1526). Busy work is first recorded 1910.

but --- O.E. butan, buton "unless, without, outside," from W.Gmc. *be- "by" + *utana "from without." Not used as a conjunction in O.E.

butane --- 1875 coinage from but(yl), hydrocarbon from butyric acid, a product of fermentation found in rancid butter, from L. butyrum (see butter) + chemical suffix -ane.

butch --- tough youth, 1902, first attested in nickname of outlaw George Cassidy, probably an abbreviation of butcher. Sense of "aggressive lesbian" is 1940s.

butcher --- c.1300, from Anglo-Norm. boucher, from O.Fr. bouchier "slaughterer of goats," from bouc "male goat," from Frank. *bukk (see buck). The verb is recorded from 1562. Figurative sense of "brutal murderer" is attested from 1529.

butler --- 1171, from Anglo-Fr. buteillier "cup-bearer," from O.Fr. bouteillier, from bouteille "wine vessel, bottle" (see bottle). Word reflects original function as "chief servant in charge of wine."

butt (n.1) --- thick end, O.E. buttuc "end, small piece of land," akin to O.N. butr "short." In sense of "human posterior" it is recorded from 1450. Meaning "remainder of a smoked cigarette" first recorded 1847.

butt (n.2) --- barrel, 1385, from Anglo-Norm. but and O.Fr. bot/bout, from L.L. buttis "cask," probably from Gk. (see bottle). Usually a cask holding 108 to 140 gallons, or roughly two hogsheads, but the measure varied greatly.

butt (n.3) --- target of a joke, 1616, originally "target for shooting practice" (1345), from O.Fr. but "aim, goal, end," perhaps from butte "mound, knoll," from Frank. *but (cf. O.N. butr "long of wood"), which would connect it with butt (n.1).

butt (v.) --- hit with the head, c.1200, from Anglo-Norm. buter, from O.Fr. boter "to thrust against," from V.L. *bottare "thrust," or from Frankish (cf. O.N. bauta, Low Ger. boten "to strike, beat"), from P.Gmc. *butan, from PIE base *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)). To butt in "rudely intrude" is Amer.Eng., 1900.

butte --- 1805, Amer.Eng., from Fr., from O.Fr. butte "mound, knoll" (see butt (n.3)).

butter --- O.E. butere, from a W.Gmc. source (cf. Ger. Butter, Du. boter), an early loan-word from L. butyrum "butter," from Gk. boutyron, perhaps lit. "cow-cheese," from bous "ox, cow" + tyros "cheese;" but this may be a folk-etymology of a Scythian word. The product was used from an early date in India, Iran and northern Europe, but not in ancient Greece and Rome. Herodotus described it (along with cannabis) among the oddities of the Scythians. The verb meaning "to flatter lavishly" is from 1816. Butter-fingered is attested from 1615. Deceptively named buttermilk is from 1528; it is what remains after the butter has been churned out.

buttercup --- type of small wildflower with a yellow bloom, 1777, from a merger of two older names, gold-cups and butterflower.

butterfly --- O.E. buttorfleoge, perhaps based on the old notion that the insects (or witches disguised as butterflies) consume butter or milk that is left uncovered. Or, less creatively, simply because the pale yellow color of many species' wings suggests the color of butter. Another theory connects it to the color of the insect's excrement, based on Du. cognate boterschijte. A fascinating overview of words for "butterfly" in various languages can be found here. The swimming stroke so called from 1936. Butterflies "light stomach spasms caused by anxiety" is from 1908. The butterfly effect is a deceptively simple insight extracted from a complex modern field. As a low-profile assistant professor in MIT's department of meteorology in 1961, [Edward] Lorenz created an early computer program to simulate weather. One day he changed one of a dozen numbers representing atmospheric conditions, from .506127 to .506. That tiny alteration utterly transformed his long-term forecast, a point Lorenz amplified in his 1972 paper, "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" [Peter Dizikes, "The Meaning of the Butterfly," The Boston Globe, June 8, 2008]

butternut --- 1753, nut of the white walnut, a N.Amer. tree; transferred to the tree itself from 1783. The nut's color was a brownish-gray, hence the word was used (1861) to describe the warm gray color of the Southern uniforms in the Amer. Civil War.

buttocks --- c.1300, probably from O.E. buttuc "end, short piece of land" (see butt (1)).

button --- 1265, from O.Fr. bouton, boton "a button, bud," from bouter, boter "to thrust" (see butt (v.)). Thus a button is, etymologically, something that pushes up, or thrusts out. Button-hole (n.) is from 1561; the verb is from 1862, an alteration of button-hold (1834) "to catch someone by the button and hold him in conversation against his will."

buttress --- c.1330, from O.Fr. boutrez pl. of bouter "to thrust against," of Frankish origin (cf. O.N. bauta "to strike, beat"), from P.Gmc. *butan, from PIE base *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)).

buxom --- c.1175, buhsum "humble, obedient," from buh- stem of O.E. bugen "to bow" + -som, for a total meaning "capable of being bent." Meaning progressed from "compliant, obliging," through "lively, jolly," "healthily plump, vigorous," to (in women, and perhaps infl. by lusty) "plump, comely" (1589).

buy --- O.E. bycgan (pt. bohte) from P.Gmc. *bugjanan (cf. O.S. buggjan, Goth. bugjan), of unknown origin, not found outside Gmc. The surviving spelling is southwest England dialect; the word was generally pronounced in O.E. and M.E. with a -dg- sound as "budge," or "bidge." Meaning "believe, accept as true" first recorded 1926.

buzkashi --- Afghan sport, a sort of mounted polo played with a goat carcass, 1956, from Pers. buz "goat" + kashi "drawing."

buzz --- 1495, echoic of bees and other insects. Meaning "a busy rumor" is attested from 1605. Aviation sense of "fly low and close" is 1941. Sense of "pleasant sense of intoxication" first recorded 1935. The game of counting off, with 7 or multiples of it replaced by buzz is attested from 1864. Buzzword first attested 1946. Buzz off (1914) originally meant "to ring off on the telephone." Buzzer "apparatus for making loud buzzing noises" is from 1870.

buzzard --- c.1300, from O.Fr. buisart "inferior hawk," from buson, buison, from L. buteonem, acc. of buteo a kind of hawk, perhaps with -art suffix for one that carries on some action or possesses some quality, with derogatory connotation.

BVDs --- 1893, trademark name (dating to 1876) of manufacturer Bradley, Vorhees, and Day.

by --- O.E. be (unstressed) or bi (stressed), from P.Gmc. *bi "around, about" (cf. Du. bij, Ger. bei "by, at, near"), from *umbi, (cognate with second element in PIE *ambhi "around," cf. Skt. abhi "toward, to," Gk. amphi- "around, about"). Originally an adverbial particle of place, in which sense it is retained in place names (Whitby, Grimsby, etc.). Elliptical use for "secondary course" (opposed to main) was in O.E. This also is the sense of the second by in the phrase by the by (1615). Bygone is from 1424; by-product is from 1857; bystander from 1619; byline of a newspaper article, etc., is from 1926. Phrase by and by (c.1314) originally meant "one by one," modern sense is from 1526. By and large (1669) was originally nautical, "sailing to the wind and off it," hence "in one direction then another."

bye (1) --- in sporting use, a variant of by (prep). Originally in cricket, "a run scored on a ball that is missed by the wicket-keeper" (1746); hence, in other sports, "position of one who is left without a competitor when the rest have drawn pairs" (1883).

bye (2) --- shortened form of good-bye. Reduplication bye-bye is recorded from 1709, though as a sound used to lull a child to sleep it is attested from 1636.

bylaw --- 1283, bilage "local ordinance," from O.N. or O.Dan. bi-lagu "town law," from byr "place where people dwell, town, village," from bua "to dwell" + lagu "law." So, a local law pertaining to local residents, or rule of a corporation or association.

BYOB --- acronym for "bring your own bottle" or "bring your own booze," first recorded 1950s.

bypass --- 1848, of certain pipes in a gasworks, from by + pass. First used 1922 for "road for the relief of congestion;" fig. sense is from 1928. The heart operation was first so-called 1957.

Byronic --- 1823, pertaining to or resembling British poet George Gordon, 6th Baron Byron (1788-1824).

byte --- 1956, Amer.Eng.; see bit (2). Reputedly coined by Dr. Werner Buchholz at IBM.

byword --- O.E. biword formed after L. proverbium, or Gk. para-bole.

Byzantine --- 1599, from L. Byzantinus, originally used of art style; later in reference to the complex, devious, and intriguing character of the royal court of Constantinople.

C.E. --- as an abbreviation for "Common Era" or "Christian Era," and a non-Christian alternative to A.D., attested from 1838 in works on Jewish history. Companion B.C.E. is attested from 1881.

C.O.D. --- abbreviation of cash on delivery, 1859, originally Amer.Eng.

cab --- 1826, shortening of cabriolet (1763) "light, horse-drawn carriage," Fr. dim. of cabrioler "leap, caper," from It. capriolare "jump in the air," from L. capreolus "wild goat." The carriages had springy suspensions. Extended to hansoms and other types of carriages; applied to public horse carriages (of automobiles from 1899), then extended to similar parts of locomotives (1859). Cabby is from 1859 (see taxi).

cabal --- 1616, from Fr. cabal "intrigue, society," originally "mystical interpretation of the Old Testament," from M.L. cabbala (see cabbala). Popularized in Eng. 1673 as an acronym for five intriguing ministers of Charles II (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale).

caballero --- 1877, "a Spanish gentleman," from Sp., from L. caballarius, from caballus "a pack-horse." Equivalent of Fr. chevalier, It. cavaliere (see cavalier).

cabana --- 1898, western U.S., from Amer.Sp. cognate of cabin (q.v.).

cabaret --- 1655, from Fr., lit. "tavern," probably from M.Du. cambret, from O.Fr. (Picard dialect) camberete, dim. of cambre "chamber" (see chamber). Came to mean "a restaurant/night club" 1912; extension of meaning to "entertainment, floor show" is 1922.

cabbage --- c.1440, from M.Fr. caboche "head" (in the Channel Islands, "cabbage"), from O.Fr. caboce "head," from L. caput "head" (see head). Introduced to Canada 1541 by Jacques Cartier on his third voyage. First written record of it in U.S. is 1669. The decline of "ch" to "j" in the unaccented final syllable parallels the common pronunciation of spinach, sandwich, Greenwich, etc.

cabbala --- 1521, from M.L. cabbala, from Heb. qabbalah "received lore, tradition," especially "pretended tradition of mystical interpretation of the Old Testament," from qibbel "to receive, admit."

cabin --- 1346, from O.Fr. cabane, from O.Prov. cabana, from L.L. capanna "hut," of doubtful origin. Meaning "room or partition of a vessel" is from 1382. Cabin fever first recorded 1918.

cabinet --- 1549, from M.Fr. cabinet "small room," dim. of O.Fr. cabane "cabin" (see cabin); perhaps infl. by It. gabbinetto, dim. of gabbia, from L. cavea "stall, stoop, cage." Sense of "private room where advisors meet" (1607) led to modern political meaning (1644).

cable --- c.1205, from O.N.Fr., from M.L. capulum "lasso, rope, halter," from L. capere "to take, seize" (see capable). Technically, in nautical use, a rope 10 or more inches around (smaller ones being hawsers); in non-nautical use, a rope of wire (not hemp or fiber). Meaning "message received by telegraphic cable" is from 1883. Cablese is from 1895: "Since cablegrams had to be paid for by the word and even press rates were expensive the practice was to affix Latin prefixes and suffixes to make one word do the work of several" [Daniel Schorr]. Cable car is from 1887. Cable television first attested 1963; shortened form cable is from 1972.

caboodle --- c.1848, see kit.

caboose --- 1747, from M.Du. kambuis "ship's galley," from Low Ger. kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck." Railroading sense is 1861.

cacciatore --- It., lit. "hunter," from pp. of cacciare "to hunt, chase," from V.L. *captiare (see catch).

cache --- 1797, from Fr. Canadian trappers' slang, "hiding place for stores" (c.1669), from Fr. cacher "conceal," from V.L. *coacticare "store up, collect, compress," from L. coactare "constrain," from coactus pp. of cogere "to collect" (see cogent).

cachet --- 1639, Scottish borrowing of Fr. cachet "seal affixed to a letter or document," from O.Fr. cacher "to press, crowd," from L. coactare "constrain" (see cache). Meaning evolving through "(letter under) personal stamp (of the king)" to "prestige."

cackle --- c.1225, imitative, partly based on M.Du. kake "jaw." Cackleberries, slang for "eggs" is first recorded 1880.

cacoethes --- itch for doing something, 1563, from L., from Gk. kakoethes "ill-habit," from kakos "bad" + ethe- "disposition, character" (see ethos). Most famously, in Juvenal's insanabile scribendi cacoethes "incurable passion for writing."

cacophony --- 1656, from Gk. kakophonia, from kakophonos "harsh sounding," from kakos "bad, evil" + phone "voice" (see fame). Kako- was a common prefix in Gk., and has often crossed over into Eng., e.g. cacography, the opposite of calligraphy (q.v.). Etymologists connect it with PIE *kakka- "to defecate."

cactus --- 1607, from L. cactus "cardoon," from Gk. kaktos, name of a type of prickly plant of Sicily (the Spanish artichoke). Modern meaning is 18c., because Linnaeus gave the name to a group of plants he thought were related to this but are not.

cad --- 1730, shortening of cadet (q.v.); originally used of servants, then (1831) of town boys by students at British universities and public schools (though at Cambridge it meant "snob"). Meaning "person lacking in finer feelings" is from 1838. "A cad used to be a jumped-up member of the lower classes who was guilty of behaving as if he didn't know that his lowly origin made him unfit for having sexual relationships with well-bred women." [Anthony West, "H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life," 1984]

cadaver --- c.1500, from L., probably from cadere "to fall" (see case (1)), a metaphor, in Latin, for "to die," also source (through comb. form -cida) of the -cide in suicide, homicide, etc.

caddie --- c.1635, Scottish form of Fr. cadet (see cadet). Originally "person who runs errands;" meaning of "golfer's assistant" is 1851. A letter from Edinburgh c.1730 describes the city's extensive and semi-organized "Cawdys, a very useful Black-Guard, who attend ... publick Places to go at Errands; and though they are Wretches, that in Rags lye upon the Stairs and in the Streets at Night, yet are they often considerably trusted .... This Corps has a kind of Captain ... presiding over them, whom they call the Constable of the Cawdys."

caddis --- larva of the May-fly, 1651, of unknown origin, perhaps a dim. of some sense of cad.

caddy --- 1792, from Malay kati a weight equivalent to about a pound and a half, adopted as a standard by British companies. Apparently the word for a measure of tea was transferred to the chest it was carried in.

cadence --- c.1384, "flow of rhythm in verse or music," from M.Fr. cadence, O.It. cadenza "conclusion of a movement in music," lit. "a falling," from V.L. *cadentia, from L. cadens prp. of cadere "to fall" (see case (1)). In 16c., sometimes used literally for "an act of falling." The It. form cadenza was borrowed 1836 as a musical term for "ornamental passage near the close of a song or solo."

cadet --- 1610, originally "young son," Fr. from Gascon capdet "captain, chief," from L.L. capitellum, dim. of L. caput "head" (see head). Younger sons from Gascon families apparently were sent to French court to serve as officers.

Cadillac --- Detroit engine-maker Henry Martyn Leland formed Cadillac Automobile Company in 1902, named for Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1658-1730), Fr. minor aristocrat and colonial governor who founded Detroit in 1701.

Cadmean victory --- 1603, from Gk. Kadmeia nike "victory involving one's own ruin" [Liddell & Scott], from Cadmus (Gk. Kadmos), legendary founder of Thebes in Boeotia and bringer of the alphabet to Greece.

cadre --- 1830, from Fr., lit. "a frame," so, "a detachment forming the skeleton of a regiment" (1851), from It. quadro, from L. quadrum "a square" (see quadrille). The communist sense is from 1930.

caduceus --- 1591, from L. caduceus, alt. of Doric Gk. karykeion "herald's staff," from karyx (gen. karykos) "a herald." Especially the wand carried by Mercury, messenger of the gods, usually represented with two serpents twined round it.

Caesar --- 1382; O.E. had casere, which would have yielded modern *coser, but it was replaced in M.E. by keiser, from Norse or Low Ger., and later in M.E. by the Fr. or L. form of the name. Cæsar was used as a title of emperors down to Hadrian (138 C.E.), and also is the root of Ger. Kaiser and Rus. tsar (see czar). He competes as progenitor of words for "king" with Charlemagne (L. Carolus), as in Lithuanian karalius, Polish krol, Hungarian kiraly. In U.S. slang c.1900, a sheriff was Great Seizer. The Caesar salad is named not for the emperor, but for Cesar Cardini, Tijuana, Mexico, restaurant owner, who is said to have served the first one c.1924.

caesarian --- 1923, shortening of Cæsarian section (1615); supposedly from Caius Julius Cæsar, who was said to have been delivered surgically, thus legend traces his cognomen to L. cæsus pp. of cædere "to cut." But if this is the etymology of the name, it was likely an ancestor who was so born (Caesar's mother lived to see his triumphs and such operations were always fatal to the woman in ancient times). And Pliny derives his cognomen from cæsaries "hair," since the future dictator was born with a full head of it. Cæsarian section may come directly from cæsus.

caesura --- 1556, from L., "metrical pause," lit. "a cutting," from pp. stem of cædere "to cut down" (see cement).

cafe --- 1802, from Fr. café "coffee, coffeehouse," from It. caffe "coffee."

cafe au lait --- 1763, from Fr. café au lait, lit. "coffee with milk," from lait "milk" (12c.), from V.L. lactis, from L. lactis (see lactation).

cafeteria --- 1839, Amer.Eng. from Mexican Sp. cafeteria "coffee store." The ending -teria in this word came to be popularly understood as meaning "help-yourself" (as though café + -teria) and was extended to new formation with that sense from c.1923.

caffeine --- 1830, from Ger. Kaffein, coined by chemist F.F. Runge (1795-1867) after Mod.L. coffea "coffee" + chemical suffix -ine.

caftan --- 1591, "long tunic worn in Turkey, etc.," from Turk. qaftan (also in Pers.). As a similar shirt or dress style in the West, it is attested from c.1965.

cage --- c.1225, from O.Fr. cage from L. cavea "hollow place, enclosure for animals, coop, hive, stall, dungeon" (see cave (n.)). The verb is attested from 1577.

cagey --- evasive, reticent, 1909, U.S. colloquial, of unknown origin.

cahoots --- 1829, Amer.Eng., perhaps from Fr. cahute "cabin;" but other sources suggest Fr. cohorte.

caiman --- 1577, from Port. or Sp. caiman, from a Carib word, or perhaps from a Congo African word applied to the reptiles in the new world by African slaves. "The name appears to be one of those like anaconda and bom, boma, which the Portuguese or Spaniards very early caught up in one part of the world, and naturalized in another." [OED]