bough

[ bou ]

noun

1. a branch of a tree, especially one of the larger or main branches.

bough

/ baʊ /

noun

1. any of the main branches of a tree

Other Words From

• boughless adjective
• under·bough noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bough¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bogh, Old English bōg, bōh “shoulder, bough”; cognate with Old Norse bōgr, Dutch boeg, German Bug; akin to Greek pêchys, Sanskrit bāhu

Word History and Origins

Origin of bough¹

Old English bōg arm, twig; related to Old Norse bōgr shoulder, ship's bow, Old High German buog shoulder, Greek pēkhus forearm, Sanskrit bāhu ; see bow ³, elbow

Synonym Study

See branch.

Example Sentences

There are many different ways to make snowshoes, and the crudest and quickest method is to strap a bundle of evergreen boughs underneath each foot—though it’s a cumbersome task that does little to improve traction.

From Popular-Science

In the event the snow won’t hold together to build solid building blocks or you are caught without tools, you can still dig out a trench and cover it with a flat roof of poles, tree boughs, and an insulating layer of snow.

From Popular-Science

Since a fire would melt the snow covered boughs overhead, your best bet for warmth is packing the well with insulating materials.

From Popular-Science

To make a bough bed, you can use leaves, grass, evergreen boughs, or other plant material for insulation.

From Popular-Science

Add a bough bedWhile this is not a shelter by itself, a thick bough bed makes an outstanding addition to any type of shelter large enough to accommodate it.

From Popular-Science

A couple of innocuous paragraphs are all that appeared in the privately printed book, The Fruitful Bough.

From The Daily Beast

No man should regard the subject of religion as decided for him until he has read The Golden Bough.

From Project Gutenberg

Outside Rome, showing the same ideas at work among neighbouring peoples, was the 'golden bough' in the grove of Diana at Aricia.

From Project Gutenberg

A few more shots put an end to its existence, and we then pulled up under the bough on which it was hanging.

From Project Gutenberg

Wandering from the parent bough,Little, trembling leaf,Whither goest thou?

From Project Gutenberg

The birds were singing, black squirrels were jumping from bough to bough, and they could hear the tapping of the woodpecker.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• sprig