From which other language is the English word 'ambush' derived?

The word 'ambush' is a noun which can mean

(1) the act of lying in wait to attack someone by surprise.

(2) an attack made in this way.

(3) the person or people making such an attack.

(4) the place of concealment from which the attack is made.

It is also a verb meaning to lie in wait for someone or attack them in this way.

It entered the language around the 14th century and comes from the French word 'embuschier' meaning 'to place men in the woods'.

More Info: www.chambers.co.uk

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

32 Comments

Loretta Gallagher

The word ambush comes from Latin roots and means to place in the woods

paulyankeelver

Sorry French word taken from a Latin word . Check it out.

Shelki

French is derived from Latin

snowballs

Many words we use today originally came from some form of the Latin language which is not a spoken language !!

Corey Taylor

"Ambush, Ambush, come from behind. Ambush, Ambush, capture your mind. Ambush, Ambush, I'm in disguise. Ambush, Ambush, take you by SURPRISE!" --Anne Wilson, 1983

S Dale Baugh

Good question….poor answer. Do the research!

Shirley Dutt

Which is mostly derived from Latin, as are all the romance languages.

Chris Brown

ambush (n.) late 15c., embushe, "troops concealed to surprise an enemy," from the English verb or from Old French embusche "an ambush, a trap" (13c., Modern French embûche), from embuschier "to lay an ambush" (see ambush (v.)). Non-military sense from the 1570s. Figurative use by the 1590s.

Robert Oldenburg

A significant percentage of English vocabulary comes from Norman French, a mixture of French and Norse. French is a blend of Latin and old Germanic, so the Latin comment has validity.

Coral Harvey

I'm learning Latin at the moment. I would have thought it had its basis in Latin.

Jim Shrader

French is based on Latin. Wrong answer

Player

French comes from Latin.

Peter de Loriol

moot point: embusche, or even in modern french embuche, derives from the frankish word (German), Busch, hence bush in English, but this in turn comes from the latin word bosco, a bush. So it pays not to use wikipedia as a source, but ask a linguist, or linguistics expert like myself. The latin word itself comes from sanskrit originally.