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bud

Etymology and origin of the English word bud

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
before 1398

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is Middle English budde, bodde,[2][3] of unknown or uncertain origin.[4][2][3] Possible cognates include Dutch bot, bud, Middle Low German buddich, swollen, and Old High German būtil, German Beutel (“bag”),[2][5] and it may be from Old French boter, to push forward, itself Germanic,[4] or akin to Old English budda, beetle.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An undeveloped growth on a plant: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to put forth buds, is from about 1400 (probably 1408).[4][2] Something immature or undeveloped is from 1579, and of children or young people, or as a term of endearment, from 1595.[6] The rudiment of a horn is from 1593.[6] A weaned calf of its first year is a sense of 1662, still dialectal,[6][7] and a debutante, a bud of promise, from 1880.[6] In zoology, an outgrowth that develops into a new organism, as in hydra, is from 1836–39.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – a plant bud.[2]
  • c. 1400 – the verb.[4]
  • 1595 – a young person.[6]
  • 1662 – a yearling calf.[6]
  • 1880 – a debutante.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small swelling on a plant stem containing an undeveloped leaf, shoot or flower.
  2. Something small or not yet developed.
  3. (biology) An outgrowth, as on yeast, that develops into a new individual.

Verb

  1. To produce buds, or to begin to develop.
  2. To graft a bud onto a plant.

Word family

  • budder
  • budless
  • budlike
  • redbud
  • budwood
  • budworm
  • disbud
  • budding
  • rosebud

Usage notes

Bud, a familiar form of address to a man or boy, is a separate word, short for buddy (1851),[4][5][8] which Hoad takes as a childish alteration of brother.[3]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Bud.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bud. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·