buxom English · revision 2483

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbʌksəm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|buxsum|t=obedient]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[inh|ang|*būhsum]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) built on the stem of [[ang|būgan|t=to bend, bow]] and the suffix [[-some]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Etymologically it means “able to be bent”.^(Etymonline) Dutch ''buigzaam'' and German ''biegsam'' “flexible” are cognates that keep the original sense.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Obedient, compliant, easily led (late 12th century).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning moved from “compliant, obliging” to “gracious, indulgent” (1362), then to “lively, jolly” (1590), and to “plump, healthy and comely” (1589).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Samuel Johnson's dictionary (1755) still gave “obedient” as the main sense.^(Etymonline) The word was used especially of women's figures from at least the 1870s, and by the 1950s it was often used more narrowly to mean “full-bosomed”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1175 – obedient, pliant (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1300 – submissive, humble (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1362 – gracious, obliging (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1589 – plump, healthy and comely.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1590 – blithe, lively, gay (archaic).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – physically flexible, yielding (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Healthily plump and full-figured, especially full-bosomed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Lively and cheerful.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' Obedient or pliant.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[buxomly]]

+ * [[buxomness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}