bushwhacker
pronunciation
How to pronounce bushwhacker in British English:
UK [ˈbʊʃwækə(r)]
How to pronounce bushwhacker in American English:
US
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- Noun:
- a disparaging term for an unsophisticated person
- a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War
Word Origin
- bushwhacker (n.)
- also bush-whacker, 1809, American English, literally "one who beats the bushes" (to make his way through), perhaps modeled on Dutch bosch-wachter "forest keeper;" see bush (n.) + whack (v.). In American Civil War, "irregular who took to the woods" (1862), variously regarded as patriot guerillas or as freebooters. Hence bushwhack (v.), 1837; bushwhacking (1826).