ambush

Meanings

Noun

Verb

  • To station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy.
  • To attack by ambush; to waylay.

Origin

  • From Middle English enbuschen, from Old French enbuscier, anbuchier (whence Middle French embusche), from Old French en- + Vulgar Latin boscus, from Frankish *busk ("bush"), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz ("bush, heavy stick"). Compare ambuscade. The change to am- from earlier forms in en- is unexplained. More at bush.

Modern English dictionary

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