English word origin

Etymology of busk

Apparently from French busquer or Spanish buscar.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To solicit money by entertaining the public in the street or in public transport. · To sell articles such as obscene books in public houses etc. · To tack, cruise about.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Apparently from French busquer or Spanish buscar.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionbusquerfr
Derivation mentionbuscares

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "busquer"
      },
      "expansion": "French busquer"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "buscar"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish buscar"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "busquer",
      "busquer#French"
    ],
    [
      "buscar",
      "buscar#Spanish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To solicit money by entertaining the public in the street or in public transport.",
        "To sell articles such as obscene books in public houses etc.",
        "To tack, cruise about."
      ],
      "tags": [
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset to stiffen it. · A corset.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from French busc, from Italian busco (“splinter”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionbuscfr
Derivation mentionbuscoit · splinter

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": "fr",
        "3": "busc"
      },
      "expansion": "French busc"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "busco",
        "t": "splinter"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian busco (“splinter”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "busc",
      "busc#French"
    ],
    [
      "busco",
      "busco#Italian"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
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        "A strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset to stiffen it.",
        "A corset."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A kind of linen.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology unknown.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

verb

To prepare; to make ready; to array; to dress. · To go; to direct one's course.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English busken, from Old Norse búask, reflexive of búa (“to prepare”); compare bound for a derivation from búa's past participle and basken for a similar formation from an Old Norse reflexive.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionbuskenenm
Derivation mentionbúasknon

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": "to ready"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
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      "busken",
      "busken#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "búask#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "búa#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "bound#English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "basken#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for busk →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-YnVzaw