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bustle

 - 7 dictionary results

bus⋅tle

1[buhs-uhl] verb, -tled, -tling, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to move or act with a great show of energy (often fol. by about): He bustled about cooking breakfast.
2. to abound or teem with something; display an abundance of something; teem (often fol. by with): The office bustled with people and activity.
–verb (used with object)
3. to cause to bustle; hustle.
–noun
4. thriving or energetic activity; stir; ferment.

Origin:
1615–25; ME bustelen to hurry aimlessly along, perh. akin to ON busla to splash about, bustle


bustler, noun
bus⋅tling⋅ly, adverb


4. ado, flurry, agitation, fuss.

bus⋅tle

2[buhs-uhl]
–noun
1. fullness around or below the waist of a dress, as added by a peplum, bows, ruffles, etc.
2. a pad, cushion, or framework formerly worn under the back of a woman's skirt to expand, support, and display the full cut and drape of a dress.

Origin:
1780–90; orig. uncert.


bustled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bustle
bus·tle 1   (bŭs'əl)   
intr. & tr.v.   bus·tled, bus·tling, bus·tles
To move or cause to move energetically and busily.
n.  Excited and often noisy activity; a stir.

[Possibly variant of obsolete buskle, frequentative of busk, to prepare oneself, from Old Norse būask, reflexive of būa, to prepare; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
bus·tle 2   (bŭs'əl)   
n.  
  1. A frame or pad to support and expand the fullness of the back of a woman's skirt.

  2. A bow, peplum, or gathering of material at the back of a woman's skirt below the waist.


[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

bustle  (1)
"be active," 1362, frequentative of M.E. bresten "to rush, break," from O.E. bersten, infl. by O.N. buask "to make oneself ready." The noun is first attested 1622. Bustling, of a place, is first recorded 1880.

bustle  (2)
"padding in a skirt," 1788, perhaps from Ger. Buschel "bunch, pad," or may be a special use of bustle (1) with ref. to "rustling motion."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

bustle

item of feminine apparel for pushing out the skirt in back just below the waist; although used at various times since the 14th century, it was first known under this name in the 19th century. The specific fashion for the bustle, or tournure, came between 1865 and 1876 and again in the 1880s. It followed the decline of the crinoline (q.v.) and began as a bunching up of material behind the waist but became a wire cage attached to the petticoat, sticking out backward like a shelf, over which the dress material was draped.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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