Dictionary

bushel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbʊʃəl/
• /ˈbuʃəl/ (US, dialectal)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English busshel, from Old French boissel, from boisse, a grain measure based on Gaulish *bostyā (“handful”), from Proto-Celtic *bostā (“palm, fist”) (compare Breton boz (“hollow of the hand”), Old Irish bas), from Proto-Indo-European *gwost-, *gwosdʰ- (“branch”).

Meanings

1. A dry measure, containing four pecks, eight gallons, or thirty-two quarts; equivalent in volume to approximately 0.0364 cubic meters (imperial bushel) or 0.0352 cubic meters (U.S. bushel).
   • Forecasts are showing no sign of an end to the drought, with corn prices hitting a record high of $8.16 (£5.19) a bushel on Thursday, while soya beans hit a high of $17.17. 2012 July 19, Josephine Moulds, “Record cereal prices stoke fears of global food crisis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • The quarter, bushel, and peck are nearly universal measures of corn. 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 207:
2. A vessel of the capacity of a bushel, used in measuring; a bushel measure.
   • And he sayde unto them: is the candle lighted, to be put under a busshell, or under the borde: ys it not therfore lighted that it shulde be put on a candelsticke? 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark iiij:[21]:
3. A quantity that fills a bushel measure.
   • a heap containing ten bushels of apples
4. (colloquial, figuratively) A large indefinite quantity.
   • The prime minister[…]has got pounds of vision. Ounces of it! Pints! A whole bushel worth of phoned-in gibberish designed to get him through a single news cycle. 2022 May 31, Marina Hyde, “Pounds, ounces, pints! Johnson is offering a whole bushel worth of phoned-in gibberish”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • The same film [Hamnet], in the coming weeks, will win awards by the bushel. 2026 January 31, Janan Ganesh, “The Hamnet wars”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20:
5. (UK) The iron lining in the nave of a wheel.

Forms

Deriveds

bushel basket · Winchester bushel · busheller · bushelful · bushelman · hide one's light under a bushel · bushelwoman · bushelage · bushel measure

Relateds

kenning

Synonyms

box

Translations (64)

te తూము (dry measure) · ru бу́шель (dry measure) · ga buiséal (dry measure) · nl buisstuk (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · sv skäppa (dry measure) · nl korenmaat (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · wa stî (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · it moggio (dry measure) · nrf buisset (dry measure) · id gantang (dry measure) · mk бу́шел (dry measure) · sh bùšel (dry measure) · la medimnum (dry measure) · nrf bouissé (dry measure) · pt alqueire (dry measure) · fi busheli (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · it staio (dry measure) · gl celamín (dry measure) · mk ши́ник (dry measure) · fi vakka (dry measure) · mk бу́шел (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · mt siegħ (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · fr boisseau (dry measure) · tr kile (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · chr ᏑᏟᎶᏛ (dry measure) · wa cope (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · nrf bouessé (dry measure) · bg крина (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · hy բուշել (dry measure) · de Scheffel (dry measure) · gl ferrado (dry measure) · fr boisseau (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · hy բուշել (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · it staio (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · wa stî (dry measure) · fi vakka (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · sq çereke (dry measure) · ja ブッシェル (dry measure) · enm busshel (dry measure) · fi busheli (dry measure) · mi puhera (dry measure) · la medimnus (dry measure) · ja ブッシェル (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · bg крина (dry measure) · cy bwsiel (dry measure) · mk ши́ник (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · nl schepel (dry measure) · es celemín (dry measure) · eo buŝelo (dry measure) · cmn 蒲式耳 (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · hu véka (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · enm busshel (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · hu véka (dry measure) · sq çerekore (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · got 𐌼𐌴𐌻𐌰 (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · ru бу́шель (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · sq karroqe (dry measure) · es fanega (dry measure) · de Scheffel (vessel of capacity of a bushel) · cs bušl (dry measure) · cmn 蒲式耳 (dry measure) · da skæppe (dry measure) · ca faneca (dry measure) · gl fanega (dry measure)

bushel en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbʊʃəl/
• /ˈbuʃəl/ (US, dialectal)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English busshel, from Old French boissel, from boisse, a grain measure based on Gaulish *bostyā (“handful”), from Proto-Celtic *bostā (“palm, fist”) (compare Breton boz (“hollow of the hand”), Old Irish bas), from Proto-Indo-European *gwost-, *gwosdʰ- (“branch”).

Meanings

1. (US, ambitransitive, qualifier:tailoring) To mend or repair clothes.
2. To pack grain, hops, etc. into bushel measures.

Forms