DCHP-2

bush ((n.)) DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1 n.

  forested wilderness, especially the extensive sub-arctic forest of Canada; the largely unsettled hinterland.

  See also: bush country  bushland (def. 1)  

  • 1792  (1937)  . . . look after the Cows, and take care that they should not steal into the bush; even the endless forests are here termed the bush.
  • 1845  The pine table and the willow-seated chairs are all made in the "bush". . . .
  • 1965  In many parts of the bush in wintertime, the only manmade tracks to be found are snowshoe prints of the fur trapper and the caterpillar tread of his snowmobile.

• 2 n.

  a tract of land left uncleared on a farm and used as a source of wood, and as a grazing area for cattle.

  See also: bush lot (def. 2)  farm woodlot  woodlot (def. 1)  

  • 1793  (1869)  Any person putting fire to any bush or stable, that does not his endeavour to hinder it from doing damage, shall forfeit the sum of forty shillings.
  • 1869  For Sale. 400 Acres of Land, situated near the steamboat landing at Langley; 280 acres of land is prairie, the remainder bush.
  • 1962  From this situation arose the practice, when new farms were being opened up, of making provision for future fuel and lumber needs by setting apart a woodlot, usually known as "the bush," reasonably close to the house and barns.
  • 1966  In rural Ontario there were two distinct wood splitting jobs. One was in the bush and the other in the woodshed.

• 3 n. — West

  thinly wooded areas of poplar, birch, and shrubs adjacent to the plains.

  See also: bushland (def. 2)  

  • 1881  (1957)  Out in the bush, too, the mosquitoes are very thick and very annoying.
  • 1953  As you go west, too, there is less bush and more open fields.

• 4 n.

  a grove of sugar maples.

  See also: sugar bush  

  • 1831  (1832)  And the sugar maple tree, if growing in what is called bushes, should never be wantonly destroyed, as it is a useful and valuable appendage to a farm.
  • 1903  The McNabb family had a very large bush, and ever since the boys had grown strong enough to attend to the work, they had always tapped a large number of trees.
  • 1966  Mr. Ostler said the run varies with the kind of bushes. "In sheltered bushes the sap will run early . . ." he noted.

• 5 n.

  in Colonial times, the country back from the settled towns; the back country (def. 1), whether wooded or not.

  See also: back country (def. 1)  

  • 1820  (1824)  Capt. Mathews of the Royal Artillery, with his family and servants, passed through Ancaster about four weeks ago, on his way to the Bush in Lobo, with six waggons, one cart, 24 horses, a flock of sheep, and some cows.
  • 1852  (1923)  In the bush, all things are in common; you cannot even get a bed without having to share it with a companion.
  • 1953  Many friends of the Radcliffs were forced to sell out and seek employment in fields better suited to their capabilities than the bush of Adelaide.