"B" Word Origins

bucky

Origin

Derived from "buckshot," shortened and turned into slang for a firearm.

bucolic

Origin

PIE word *gʷṓws Borrowed from Latin būcolicus, from Ancient Greek βουκολικός (boukolikós, “rustic, pastoral; meter used by pastoral poets”, literally “pertaining to cowherds”).

bud

Middle English

From Middle English "budde," probably going back to a Germanic root meaning "to swell," the same idea behind a plant bud swelling before it opens.

Buda

Origin

From Hungarian Buda, probably from a Slavic personal name.

Budapest

Origin

From Hungarian Budapest, a blend of Buda and Pest.

Budd

Old English

From Old English Budda, a nickname of uncertain meaning.

Buddha

Sanskrit

From Pali/Sanskrit "buddha," meaning "awakened" or "enlightened," the past participle of a verb meaning "to wake up."

Buddhism

Origin

Formed from "Buddha" plus the suffix "-ism," used to name a system of belief or practice.

buddy

Origin · 1700

First recorded in the late 1700s; likely a child's alteration of "brother," though it may also trace back to British dialect "butty," meaning workmate or companion, especially among coal miners.

budge

Latin

Borrowed from Middle French "bouger" ("to move"), ultimately from Latin "bullire," meaning "to boil" or "bubble" — the same root that gives us "boil."

budgerigar

Origin

Possibly an alteration of Gamilaraay gijirrigaa; change of initial syllable unexplained though possibly from Aboriginal Pidgin English budgeree.

budget

Old French

From Middle English "bouget," a small leather bag or pouch, from Old French "bougette" — the word originally meant the pouch a treasurer carried, before shifting to mean the financial plan itself.

budgie

Origin

A shortened, informal form of "budgerigar," itself borrowed from an Australian Aboriginal language.

Budweiser

German

From German Budweiser, "of Budweis," the Bohemian town famous for its brewing tradition long before the American brand adopted the name.

Bueller

Origin · 1986

Popularized by the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in which a teacher repeatedly calls the absent student's name — "Bueller... Bueller..." — to total silence.

buenas noches

Spanish

Spanish, literally 'good nights': buenas, the feminine plural of bueno ('good'), with noches, the plural of noche ('night').

bueno

Spanish

From Latin bonus ('good'), the same root that gives English bonus, bonny and bounty.

buenos días

Spanish

Spanish, literally 'good days': buenos, the masculine plural of bueno ('good'), with días, the plural of día ('day').

buenos noches

Spanish

An erroneous form of Spanish buenas noches, from bueno ('good') and noche ('night').

buff

Middle French

From "buffe," an old word for buffalo-hide leather, via Middle French "buffle" meaning "buffalo."

buffalo

Ancient Greek

Borrowed via Portuguese or Spanish "búfalo," ultimately from Ancient Greek "boubalos," referring to an antelope or wild ox.

buffaloback

Origin

From buffalo + back, modelled on horseback.

buffer

Origin

Formed from "buff" (to cushion or soften a blow) plus the "-er" ending.

buffet

Middle French

From Middle French "buffet," meaning a side table, of unknown deeper origin; the modern pronunciation was later reshaped to match French.

Buffett

Middle English

Apparently from Middle English buffard (“idiot”).

bufflehead

Origin

Compound of buffle (“buffalo”) + head, so called for its large head.

buffoon

Italian

From Italian "buffone" ("jester"), from "buffare," meaning "to puff out the cheeks" — an old gesture associated with clowning around.

buffy

Origin

Built from "buff" (the pale leather color) plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y."

Buford

Old English

From Old English burg ("castle") + ford ("ford").

bug

Middle English

Traced to Middle English "bugge," meaning a scarecrow or hobgoblin; the "insect" meaning developed later, possibly influenced by a separate, similar-sounding word for beetle.

Bugatti

Italian · 1909

From the surname of Italian-born founder Ettore Bugatti, who established the car company in France in 1909.

bugbear

Origin

From obsolete meaning of bug (“something terrifying”) + bear. See Middle English bugge, modern bogey.

bugger

Old French

From Old French "bougre," originally meaning "heretic" (a reference to the Bulgarian-linked Bogomil sect), which later took on its cruder, unrelated sexual sense in English.

buggered

Origin

The past-participle form of the verb "bugger."

buggery

Origin

Formed from "bugger" plus the noun suffix "-y."

buggish

Origin

From bug + -ish.

buggy

Origin

Origin unknown.

bughouse

Origin

From bug + house.

bugle

Latin

From Middle English bugle, via Anglo-Norman from Latin buculus, "young ox" — bugles were originally made from ox horn.

bugler

Origin

From bugle + the agent suffix -er, "one who does."

bugleweed

Origin

From bugle + weed.

bugsy

Origin

From "bug" plus "-sy," on the pattern of adjectives like "cutesy."

Buick

Origin · 1854

Named after Scottish-American inventor David Dunbar Buick (1854-1929), who founded the company.

build

Old English

From Old English byldan/bytlian, "to build," ultimately from a Germanic root meaning "house, dwelling."

building

Middle English

From Middle English byldynge, from build + the suffix -ing.

buildout

Origin

Deverbal from build out.

buildup

Origin

Formed from the phrasal verb "build up," turned into a single noun.

buirdly

Origin

Borrowed from Scots buirdly, alteration of earlier buirly (“burly”), of uncertain origin.