Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bushwhack” come from?

bushwhack (English) comes from English Bush, from Middle English bush, from Old English busċ, from Latin bosca, from Late Latin busca, from Proto-West Germanic busk, from Proto-Germanic buskaz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH- — to become, grow, appear.

bushwhack (English): to travel through thick wooded country, cutting...

Definitions

  1. to travel through thick wooded country, cutting...

Ancestry of “bushwhack”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBush—
2Middle Englishbushgrove, wood; thicket, underbrush; bush; branch of...
3Old Englishbusċ—
4Latinboscafirewood
5Late Latinbusca—
6Proto-West Germanicbuskbush, thicket
7Proto-Germanicbuskazbush; thicket
8Proto-Indo-EuropeanbʰuH-to become, grow, appear

Words derived from “bushwhack”

  • bushwhacking
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH- →