buchu

See also: bùchū and buch'u

English

Alternative forms

• boegoe, bucku

Etymology

Borrowed from Khoekhoe buku.

Noun

buchu (countable and uncountable, plural buchus)

1. A South African shrub in the genus Agathosma.
   • 1978, André Brink, Rumours of Rain, Vintage, published 2000, page 41:

     Inside us, like chromosomes, lay the memories of […] guinea-fowl clicking in the early morning grass or the delicate tracks of the sandpiper, the smell of buchu and veld fires […]

2. (South Africa) Medicinal leaves from the shrub that are often used in brandy; this is an old Dutch medicine.
   • 1999, JM Coetzee, Disgrace, Vintage, published 2000, page 71:

     Like Lucy, they have potatoes and onions to sell, but also bottled jams, preserves, dried fruit, packets of buchu tea, honeybush tea, herbs.

Derived terms

• bitter buchu

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbuxu]

Verb

buchu

1. third-person plural passive of byś

Upper Sorbian

Verb

buchu

1. third-person plural passive of być