Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Bush \Bush\, n. [OE. bosch, busch, buysch, bosk, busk; akin to
   D. bosch, OHG. busc, G. busch, Icel. b[=u]skr, b[=u]ski, Dan.
   busk, Sw. buske, and also to LL. boscus, buscus, Pr. bosc,
   It. bosco, Sp. & Pg. bosque, F. bois, OF. bos. Whether the
   LL. or G. form is the original is uncertain; if the LL., it
   is perh. from the same source as E. box a case. Cf. {Ambush},
   {Boscage}, {Bouquet}, {Box} a case.]
   1. A thicket, or place abounding in trees or shrubs; a wild
      forest.

   Note: This was the original sense of the word, as in the
         Dutch bosch, a wood, and was so used by Chaucer. In
         this sense it is extensively used in the British
         colonies, especially at the Cape of Good Hope, and also
         in Australia and Canada; as, to live or settle in the
         bush.

   2. A shrub; esp., a shrub with branches rising from or near
      the root; a thick shrub or a cluster of shrubs.

            To bind a bush of thorns among sweet-smelling
            flowers.                              --Gascoigne.

   3. A shrub cut off, or a shrublike branch of a tree; as,
      bushes to support pea vines.

   4. A shrub or branch, properly, a branch of ivy (as sacred to
      Bacchus), hung out at vintners' doors, or as a tavern
      sign; hence, a tavern sign, and symbolically, the tavern
      itself.

            If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 't is
            true that a good play needs no epilogue. --Shak.

   5. (Hunting) The tail, or brush, of a fox.

   {To beat about the bush}, to approach anything in a
      round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; -- a
      metaphor taken from hunting.

   {Bush bean} (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and
      requires no support ({Phaseolus vulgaris}, variety
      {nanus}). See {Bean}, 1.

   {Bush buck}, or {Bush goat} (Zo["o]l.), a beautiful South
      African antelope ({Tragelaphus sylvaticus}); -- so called
      because found mainly in wooden localities. The name is
      also applied to other species.

   {Bush cat} (Zo["o]l.), the serval. See {Serval}.

   {Bush chat} (Zo["o]l.), a bird of the genus {Pratincola}, of
      the Thrush family.

   {Bush dog}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Potto}.

   {Bush hammer}. See {Bushhammer} in the Vocabulary.

   {Bush harrow} (Agric.) See under {Harrow}.

   {Bush hog} (Zo["o]l.), a South African wild hog
      ({Potamoch[oe]rus Africanus}); -- called also {bush pig},
      and {water hog}.

   {Bush master} (Zo["o]l.), a venomous snake ({Lachesis mutus})
      of Guinea; -- called also {surucucu}.

   {Bush pea} (Bot.), a variety of pea that needs to be bushed.
      

   {Bush shrike} (Zo["o]l.), a bird of the genus {Thamnophilus},
      and allied genera; -- called also {batarg}. Many species
      inhabit tropical America.

   {Bush tit} (Zo["o]l.), a small bird of the genus
      {Psaltriparus}, allied to the titmouse. {P. minimus}
      inhabits California.