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busk

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busk¹

  • /bʌsk/ US, UK
  • /bʊsk/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌsk

Where it comes from

Apparently from French busquer or Spanish buscar.

verb busks · busking · busked

  1. UK, especially, intransitive To solicit money by entertaining the public in the street or in public transport.
  2. obsolete, transitive To sell articles such as obscene books in public houses etc. The frothy orator, who busked his tales In quackish pomp of noisy words
  3. To tack, cruise about.

busk²

  • /bʌsk/ US, UK
  • /bʊsk/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌsk

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French busc, from Italian busco (“splinter”).

noun busks

  1. A strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset to stiffen it. Her long slit sleeves, stiffe buske, puffe verdingall, / Is all that makes her thus angelicall.
  2. broadly A corset. Off with that happy busk, which I envie, / That still can be, and still can stand so nigh.

busk³

  • /bʌsk/ US, UK
  • /bʊsk/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌsk

Where it comes from

Etymology unknown.

noun

  1. obsolete A kind of linen. Busk, a kind of table linen, occurs first in 1458, and occasionally afterwards.

busk⁴

  • /bʌsk/ US, UK
  • /bʊsk/ Northern England

Rhymes with -ʌsk

Where it comes from

From Middle English busken, from Old Norse búask, reflexive of búa (“to prepare”); compare bound for a derivation from búa's past participle and basken for a similar formation from an Old Norse reflexive.

verb busks · busking · busked

  1. Northern England, Scotland, transitive To prepare; to make ready; to array; to dress. Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny, bonny bride.
  2. Northern England, Scotland To go; to direct one's course. Ye might have busked you to Huntly-banks.

Busk⁵

Where it comes from

From Creek puskita, pusketv (“a fast”).

proper noun

  1. A feast of first fruits among the Creek tribe of Native Americans, celebrated when the corn is ripe enough to be eaten.

Busk⁶

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Danish and Swedish Busk; alternatively, it could be an English topographic surname for someone who lived by a bush, from Old Norse buskr (“bush”).

proper noun Busks

  1. A surname.

Busk⁷

Where it comes from

From Ukrainian Буськ (Busʹk).

proper noun

  1. A city in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine.

Translations

Every language

verb to solicit money by entertaining the public

Españolactuar ambulantemente, ejecutar callejeramente
中文卖艺 màiyì
DeutschStraßenmusik machen
Italianosuonare per strada
Русскийиграть музыку на улице igratʹ muzyku na ulice

noun stiffening strip in the front of a corset

Françaisbusc

name city in Ukraine

РусскийБуск Busk

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Cite this
MLA

"busk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/busk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

busk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/busk

Chicago

"busk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/busk.

BibTeX
@misc{busk_2026,
  title = {busk},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/busk},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}