Word of the Day

: February 29, 2012

bosky

adjective BAH-skee

What It Means

1 : having abundant trees or shrubs

2 : of or relating to a woods

bosky in Context

As we drove away from the city, apartment buildings gave way to homes with yards, then at last to a bosky landscape dominated by tall pines.

"In 1863, when two brothers were abducted by armed gangsters and marched into a forest, their appeal to a local saint resulted in their abductors letting them go. Amusingly, though, the artist's skill extends only to the most crucial details: the blindfold, the guns, the bosky scene."-From an article by Jenny Gilbert in The Independent (London), November 20, 2011

Did You Know?

"Bosk," "busk," "bush"-in Middle English these were all variant spellings of a word meaning "shrub." "Bush" is still familiar to the modern ear, and "busk" can still be heard in a few places in the dialects of northern Britain. "Bosk" too survived in English dialects, although it disappeared from the written language, and in the early 17th century it provided the root for the woodsy adjective "bosky." Since its formation, "bosky" has been firmly rooted in our language, and its widespread popularity seems to have resurrected its parental form. By 1815 "bosk" (also spelled "bosque") had reappeared in writing, but this time with the meaning "a small wooded area."