bustle
/ˈbʌsəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.98 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A frame worn underneath a woman's skirt, typically only protruding from the rear as opposed to the earlier more circular hoops.
Countable
verb
To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
Example Sentences
- "the hum and bustle; a din and bustle"
- "the whirl and bustle of a large metropolis"
- "[…]we are, perhaps, all the while flattering our natural Indolence, which, hating the Buſtle of the World and Drudgery of Buſineſs, ſeeks a Pretext of Reaſon, to give itſelf a full and uncontroul'd Indulgence."
- "In the midſt of all this buſtle, I was ſtruck with the appearance of a large bevy of beauties and women of the firſt fashion, who with all the perfect confidence of good breeding, inſhrined themſelves in the ſeveral temples dedicated to the Cyprian Venus[.]"
- "My father was in the meantime overjoyed and in the bustle of preparation only recognized in the melancholy of his niece the diffidence of a bride."
- "As the sun ascends to his meridian, the hum and bustle gradually decline; at the height of noon there is a pause."
Etymology
From Middle English bustlen, bustelen, bostlen, perhaps an alteration of *busklen (> Modern English buskle), a frequentative of Middle English busken (“to prepare; make ready”), from Old Norse búask (“to prepare oneself”); or alternatively from a frequentative form of Middle English busten, bisten (“to buffet; pummel; dash; beat”) + -le. Compare also Icelandic bustla (“to splash; bustle”). The etymology of noun sense 3 is uncertain, perhaps related to busk (“strip in a corset”) or German Buschel.