bunny English · revision 15215

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=1606}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbʌni/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a pet form of dialect [[bun]], a squirrel or rabbit, also a term of endearment, with [[-y]],^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps from Scottish bun, the tail of a hare (about 1538).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The origin of bun is not known;^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) Etymonline also mentions [[fr|bon]] or a Scandinavian source,^(Etymonline) and Barnhart compares [[ga|bun|t=stump, root]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A term of endearment for a woman or child: 1606 (''my honey, my bunny, my duck, my dear''), in Barnhart and Word Origins.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a pet name for a rabbit it is not found until late in the 17th century, from 1690 in Barnhart, about 1699 in Merriam-Webster.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Bun had been used of a squirrel from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The Playboy Club hostess, a bunny girl in a costume with rabbit ears and tail, is from 1960,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and rabbit fur was called bunny from 1950.^(OED 1989) The Bunny Hug was a ragtime dance of 1912.^(Etymonline) Informally a bunny is also a devotee of something, as a gym bunny.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1538 – bun, a hare's tail (Scots).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1606 – bunny, a term of endearment.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690 – a rabbit.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1912 – the Bunny Hug.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1960 – a bunny girl.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A [[rabbit]], especially a young one; a child's word.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[nightclub]] hostess dressed in a costume with rabbit ears and tail.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' A devotee of an activity: ''a gym bunny''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bunny hug]]

+ * [[bunny slope]]

+ * [[dumb bunny]]

+ * [[dust bunny]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bun]]

+ * [[rabbit]]

+ * [[bunion]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different bunny, a lump or swelling, especially from a blow, is recorded from about 1440,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and survived in the dialects of Cheshire, East Anglia and Cornwall.^(Wright 1898) In Hampshire a bunny is also a small ravine opening to the sea, from 1873.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}