Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Phrase Bush League By Etymonline

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAdvertisementRemove Ads

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of bush league

bush league(adj.)

"mean, petty, unprofessional," 1906, from baseball slang for the small-town baseball clubs below the minor league where talent was developed (by 1903), from bush (n.) in the adjectival slang sense of "rural, provincial," which originally was simple description, not a value judgment.

also from 1906

Entries linking to bush league

bush(n.)

"many-stemmed woody plant," from Old English bysc (found in place names), from West Germanic *busk "bush, thicket" (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German busc, Dutch bosch, bos, German Busch). Influenced by or combined with Old French (busche "firewood") and Medieval Latin busca (source also of Italian bosco, Spanish bosque, French bois), both of which probably are from Germanic (compare Boise).

In the British American colonies, applied from 1650s to the uncleared districts. In South Africa, "country," as opposed to town (1780); probably from Dutch bosch in the same sense. As "branch of a tree hung out as a tavern-sign," 1530s; hence the proverb "good wine needs no bush." The meaning "pubic hair" (especially of a woman) is from 1745.

To beat the bushes (mid-15c.) is a way to rouse birds so that they fly into the net which others are holding, which originally was the same thing as beating around the bush (see beat (v.)).

Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

More to explore

ivyIvy bush as a sign of a tavern where wine is served is attested from mid-15c. (the ivy being sacred to Bacchus)....Ivy League, inspired by the image of old, ivy-mantled walls, dates to 1935, originally in reference to a conference of football...Incidentally, "Ivy League" is a poor name; it suggests that athletic morality is concentrated in a few very old colleges....confederate1530s, "to unite in a league or alliance," from Late Latin confoederatus, past participle of confoederare "to unite by a...league," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + foederare, from foedus (genitive foederis) "a league,...confederationLatin confoederationem (nominative confoederatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of confoederare "to unite in a league...Meaning "states or persons united by a league" is from 1620s....confederacyjoint action," from Anglo-French confederacie (Old French confederacie), from stem of Latin confoederare "to unite by a league...," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + foederare, from foedus "a league" (from suffixed form of PIE...Also late 14c. as "an aggregation of persons, states, etc., united by a league, a confederation....mandateLeague of Nations sense "commission issued by the League authorizing a selected power to administer and develop a territory...GenevaFrom 1920 sometimes in reference to the city as the site of the headquarters of the League of Nations....The Geneva Protocol is a League of Nations document meant to settle international disputes; it dates from 1924....hawMeaning "fruit of the hawthorn bush" (Old English) is perhaps short for *hægberie....minorearly 13c., in frere menour "Franciscan friar," literally "minor friar," from Latin minor "less, lesser, smaller, junior," figuratively "inferior, less important," which was formed as a masculine/feminine form of minus on the mistaken assumption that minus was a neuter comparativleague"alliance," mid-15c., ligg, from French ligue "confederacy, league" (15c.), from Italian lega, from legare "to tie, to bind," from Latin ligare "to bind" (from PIE root *leig- "to tie, bind"). Originally among nations, subsequently extended to political associations (1846) and spconnotationearly 15c., "a concommitant symptom;" 1530s, "a secondary signification, that which is included in the meaning of a word besides its primary denotation," from Medieval Latin connotationem (nominative connotatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of connotare "signify in a

Share bush league

‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20leagueCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20league">Etymology of bush league by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of bush league. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 12, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20leagueCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of bush league," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed March 12, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20league.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of bush league." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20league. Accessed 12 March, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of bush league." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/bush%20league (accessed March 12, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

TrendingDictionary entries near bush league

• bury
• bus
• busboy
• busby
• bush
• bush league
• bushed
• bushel
• bushido
• bushing
• Bushman

AdvertisementClose

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Close