Etymology: < ambush v. (compare forms at that entry), after Middle French embusche, enbusche, embuche, (rare) ambuche (French embûche ) act of positioning of troops in a concealed place in order to surprise and attack an enemy, also the surprise attack itself (13th cent. in Old French; also in figurative senses ‘ruse’, ‘trap’, ‘snare’ (late 14th cent.)), body of soldiers (considered collectively) concealed in order to surprise an enemy (second half of the 14th cent.), the place or position in which a surprise attack is made (late 14th cent.; < embuscher , embucher , enbuscher ambush v.). Compare earlier ambushment n. and later ambuscado n., ambuscade n., imboscata n. Compare also earlier bush n.¹ (compare sense 4a at that entry).Notes on forms. With the form inbush compare the note at ambush v. The forms in am- both of this noun, and of words belonging to the same family, are not paralleled in French; they may perhaps have been influenced by ambage n. Specific senses. Sense 4 results from association of this word with ambage n.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman enbucher, enbuischer, enbuscher, enbusser, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French embuscher, also (with change of conjugation) Anglo-Norman enbuschier, Old French embuissier, and (with prefix substitution: compare a- prefix⁵) Anglo-Norman abucher, abuscher (French embusquer ) to hide or conceal oneself, especially in order to make a surprise attack (used reflexively), to place (people) in ambush, to surprise (a person or group of people) with an ambush, to lie in ambush (all late 12th cent.) < en- en- prefix¹ + the Old French reflex of post-classical Latin busca (see bush n.¹). Compare later imbosk v., emboss v.², and the aphetic doublet bush v.¹Compare Catalan emboscar (13th cent.), Spanish emboscar (end of the 15th cent.; c1385 in sense ‘to put (people) into a bush or wood’), Portuguese emboscar (1572; 1539 as †embuscar ), Italian imboscare (14th cent.; > imbosk v.), post-classical Latin imboscare (14th cent.). The modern French form embusquer (15th cent. in an isolated attestation, subsequently from 1611) reflects alteration after Italian imboscare . Specific forms. For the forms with initial am- , which are attested from the first half of the 17th cent., see the note at ambush n. With forms in im- , in- , see discussion at im- prefix¹, in- prefix³. Specific senses. Sense 1c shows an etymologically motivated use after bush n.¹ Stress patterns. This word was originally stressed on the second syllable, a stress pattern which is still attested in the 17th cent.; compare the similar diachronic variation of stress at ambushment n.