*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bust

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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 ↗
noun

The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation. · A police raid or takedown of a criminal enterprise. · A failed enterprise; a bomb. · A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis.

verb

To break. · To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime. · To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state. · To debunk, dispel (a belief).

adj

Without any money, broke, bankrupt.

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

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 17 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

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": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:busten",
        "id": "burst",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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        "2": "enm",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English busten"
    },
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        "1": "nds",
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      },
      "expansion": "Low German basten"
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      "busten#Middle_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "bresten",
      "bresten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "basten",
      "basten#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "barsten",
      "barsten#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "burst",
      "burst"
    ],
    [
      "bost",
      "bost"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation.",
        "A police raid or takedown of a criminal enterprise.",
        "A failed enterprise; a bomb.",
        "A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis."
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        "To break.",
        "To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.",
        "To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.",
        "To debunk, dispel (a belief)."
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        "transitive",
        "slang"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders. · A woman's breasts; the circumference of her chest measured around the breasts.

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

Etymology tree Latin būstum Italian bustobor. French bustebor. English bust Borrowed from French buste, from Italian busto (“torso, upper body”), assumed to stem from Latin bustum (“funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned”). Perhaps shortened from Latin ambustum, neuter of ambustus (“scorched”), past participle of ambūrō (“burn all over, scorch”), from ambi- (“around”) + ūrō (“to burn”). Compare Old Norse beysti.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Root classification mention*h₁ews-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionbustefr
  • Derivation mentionbustoit · torso, upper body
  • Derivation mentionbustumla · funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned
  • Derivation mentionambustumla
  • Cognate mentionbeystinon
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:buste",
        "id": "breast",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin būstum\nItalian bustobor.\nFrench bustebor.\nEnglish bust\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"burial mound, tomb\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"būstum\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Italian\", \"term\" : \"busto\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"it\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"buste\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bust\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"breast\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bust\" id=\"English:_breast\">"
    },
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        "3": "*h₁ews-"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "bor+",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "buste"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French buste"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "busto",
        "t": "torso, upper body"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian busto (“torso, upper body”)"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "bustum",
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse beysti"
    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
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      },
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    }
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      "būstum",
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    ],
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      "busto",
      "busto#Italian"
    ],
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      "buste",
      "buste#French"
    ],
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      "buste",
      "buste#French"
    ],
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      "busto",
      "busto#Italian"
    ],
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      "bustum",
      "bustum#Latin"
    ],
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      "ambustum",
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    ],
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      "ambustus",
      "ambustus#Latin"
    ],
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      "ambūrō",
      "amburo#Latin"
    ],
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      "ambi-",
      "ambi-#Latin"
    ],
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      "ūrō",
      "uro#Latin"
    ],
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      "beysti",
      "beysti#Old_Norse"
    ]
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        "A woman's breasts; the circumference of her chest measured around the breasts."
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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 bust →

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
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YnVzdA