Etymology: In sense 1 < (i) Anglo-Norman busce, bouce, buce, busse (c1170 or earlier; compare Old French buce , busse ), perhaps < post-classical Latin bucia , buscia , bucea , busca , buza , buscium (military) transport vessel (first half of the 12th cent.; frequently from late 12th cent. in British sources), of uncertain origin (see note). In sense 2 < (ii) Middle Dutch buysse (Dutch buis) or its equivalent (iii) Middle Low German bǖse, bǖsse, buyse fishing vessel, itself < either Old French or post-classical Latin (see above); compare ( < Middle Low German or early modern Dutch) German Büse fishing vessel (a1525). Compare also Middle Low German butze, butza, busse kind of Norwegian cargo ship, Old High German (rare) būzō pirate ship (12th cent.; Middle High German buze kind of warship), Old Icelandic buza, búza kind of warship, also cargo ship, Old Norwegian búza cargo ship, and also (denoting a fishing vessel) post-classical Latin buza (1163 in a source from the Netherlands), bussa, bussha, buyssa (1417, 1442 in British sources).Most of the 12th- and 13th-cent. uses of post-classical Latin bucia refer to the crusades (the earliest attestation refers to the First Crusade (in form buza ); the earliest in British sources to the Third Crusade). Compare Arabic buṭsa (military) transport vessel (typically in the context of the Crusades), apparently a loanword, perhaps < a Romance language. A connection with the Romance base for butt n.⁴ has been suggested, but this poses formal difficulties. Earlier currency of the simplex in English (which would probably represent a separate borrowing < early Scandinavian) may be implied by buscarl n. (see discussion at that entry). Compare also Old Occitan bus (12th cent.), Catalan †bus (first half of the 13th cent.), Spanish †buso (first half of the 15th cent.), all masculine, unlike the French, Germanic, and most Latin forms, which are feminine. Compare the following early example, although it is unclear whether it should be interpreted as showing the Middle English or the Anglo-Norman word:c1350 in J. C. Tingey Rec. City of Norwich (1910) II. 201 Del Neef q' porte seel, j fat. D' le Busse, iiij d.

Etymology: Probably ultimately imitative, perhaps immediately < buss v.² or as a variant of bass n.³Perhaps compare also Spanish buz (early 17th cent.), German †Buss (17th cent.; early 16th cent. as Bus; compare with a diminutive suffix German regional (southern and Austria) Busserl, Bussel (c1700)), Swedish puss (1669), all in sense ‘kiss’.

Etymology: Variant of busk v.¹

Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps a variant of bass v.¹, although compare German †bussen (early 16th cent.), Swedish pussa (mid 17th cent.). Compare buss n.²