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
- to travel through thick wooded country, cutting...
Ancestry of “bushwhack”, step by step
bushwhack traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Bush
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Bush | A place name |
| 2 | Middle English | bush | grove, wood; thicket, underbrush; bush; branch of... |
| 3 | Old English | busċ | — |
| 4 | Latin | bosca | firewood |
| 5 | Late Latin | busca | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | busk | bush, thicket |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | buskaz | bush; thicket |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuH- | to become, grow, appear |