Buxom
/ˈbʌk.səm/noun
Originally meaning pliant or obedient, now usually meaning full-bosomed or pleasantly plump.
Did you know?Its oldest English senses had nothing to do with the body at all: in Middle English, buxom described someone obedient, compliant, or easy to bend, a meaning tied to the same root as “bow.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰewgʰ-
“to bend, bow, or yield”
Old English
OE
būhsum
“obedient, submissive, pliant”
Middle English
ME
buxom
“compliant, docile, willing”
15th-16th Century
English
buxom
“healthy, vigorous, lively; later also plump or full-bodied”
Modern English
English
buxom
“full-bosomed or plump, especially of a woman”