bush

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English; akin to Old High German busc forest Date: 14th century 1. a. shrub; especially a low densely branched shrub b. a close thicket of shrubs suggesting a single plant 2. a large uncleared or sparsely settled area (as in Australia) usually scrub-covered or forested ; wilderness — usually used with the 3. a. archaic a bunch of ivy formerly hung outside a tavern to indicate wine for sale b. obsolete tavern c. advertising <

good wine needs no bush — Shakespeare

> 4. a bushy tuft or mass <

a bush of hair

>; especially brush II,2a 5. minor league — usually used in plural <

spent ten years in the bushes

> II. verb Date: 15th century transitive verb to support, mark, or protect with bushes intransitive verb to extend like a bush ; resemble a bush III. adjective Date: 1595 1. having a low-growing compact bushy habit — used especially of cultivated beans <

bush snap beans

> 2. serving, occurring in, or used in the bush <

bush planes

> IV. noun Etymology: Dutch bus bushing, box, from Middle Dutch busse box, from Late Latin buxis — more at box Date: 1566 chiefly British bushing V. adjective Etymology: short for bush-league Date: 1959 falling below acceptable standards ; unprofessional <

bush behavior

>