a. A unit of volume or capacity in the US Customary System, used in dry measure and equal to 4 pecks, 2,150.42 cubic inches, or 35.24 liters.
b. A unit of volume or capacity in the British Imperial System, used in dry and liquid measure and equal to 2,219.36 cubic inches or 36.37 liters.
2. A container with the capacity of a bushel.
3. Informal A large amount; a great deal: We have bushels of time, so relax.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman bussel, variant of Old French boissiel, from boisse, one sixth of a bushel, of Celtic origin.]
bush·el 2
(bo͝osh′əl)
tr.v.bush·eled, bush·el·ing, bush·els or bush·elled or bush·el·ling
To alter or mend (clothing).
[Probably from German bosseln, to do odd jobs, alteration (perhaps influenced by bosseln, to emboss) of basteln, to rig up, mend, probably from Bast, bast fiber (used to make rope), from Middle High German bast, from Old High German.]
1. a unit of dry measure containing 4 pecks, the U.S. bushel being equal to 2150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters, and the British imperial bushel being equal to 2219.36 cubic inches or 36.38 liters Abbr.:bu.,bush.
2. a container of this capacity.
3. a unit of weight equal to the weight of a bushel of a given commodity.
4. a large, unspecified amount or number: a bushel of kisses.
[1250–1300; Middle English bu(i)sshel < Middle French boissel, derivative of boisse unit of measure]
bush•el2
(ˈbʊʃ əl)
v.t. -eled, -el•ing (esp. Brit.) -elled, el•ling.
to alter or repair.
[1875–80, Amer.; < German bosseln to patch < French bosseler to emboss; see boss2]
(bu) A measure of dry volume. In the US, 1 bu = 8 gal (64 US pt); in the UK, 1 bu = 8 gal (64 UK pt). The measures are not to be confused: 1.03 US bu = 1 UK bu.
A measure of volume and usually considered four pecks (eight gallons). However, in the days when bushels and pecks were commonly used, U.S. dry measure, U.S. liquid measure, and British Imperial liquid and dry measure were all likely to be encountered. As an example of how these different standards can affect calculations, consider the old saying “a pint is a pound the world around.” At the beginning of the twenty-first century, if one weighed a pint of water from a kitchen measuring cup, it would be found to weigh quite close to one pound. Since a bushel contains eight gallons, or sixty-four pints, then a bushel of water should weigh around sixty-four pounds, which is about what a cubic foot of water weighs. One would then conclude that the volume of a bushel is about one cubic foot. However, a bushel is really a dry measure and contains 2150.42 cubic inches (1.24 cubic feet). The “pint is a pound” assumes a liquid measure in which a pint is one-eighth of a wine, or U.S. liquid gallon, and contains 28.875 cubic inches, whereas a dry measure pint contains 33.6 cubic inches.
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