Bud
/bʌd/noun
A swollen plant shoot or flower bud; also, a young person or companion.
Did you know?The plant sense of **bud** is a native English word, but the exact oldest root is obscure; it appears in Middle English with the meaning “swelling shoot,” while the friendly “pal/young person” sense is a much later colloquial extension.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
budda
“a beetle or insect”
Middle English
ME
budde
“a swelling shoot or germ of a plant”
14th Century
English
bud
“a swollen growth on a plant that may develop into a leaf, flower, or shoot”
18th–19th Century
English
bud
“a familiar term for a young person or companion”