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imperial bushel

 - 3 dictionary results

bush⋅el

1  [boosh-uhl]
–noun
1. a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, equivalent in the U.S. (and formerly in England) to 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters (Winchester bushel), and in Great Britain to 2219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters (Imperial bushel). Abbreviation: bu., bush.
2. a container of this capacity.
3. a unit of weight equal to the weight of a bushel of a given commodity.
4. a large, unspecified amount or number: a bushel of kisses.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME bu(i)sshel < MF boissel, equiv. to boisse unit of measure (< Gaulish *bostia; cf. MIr bas, bos palm of the hand, handbreadth) + -el n. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

bushel 
c.1330, measure of capacity containing four pecks or eight gallons, from O.Fr. boissel, probably from boisse, a grain measure based on Gallo-Romance *bostia "handful," from Gaulish *bosta "palm of the hand" (cf. Ir. bass, Bret. boz "the hollow of the hand"). The exact measure varied from place to place and according to commodity, and since c.1374 it has been used loosely to mean "a large quantity or number."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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