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DictionaryRoot: bysc
Old English

bysc

bush

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An adult white frontier ambusher lunges unexpectedly from behind dense bushes toward an adult traveler, who startles and raises his hands.
noun

bushwhacker

BUSH-wak-er/ˈbʊʃwækər/

A fighter who attacks by ambush, especially in rough country.

Etymology
bushOld Englishbush
+whackEnglishstrike sharply
+erEnglisha person or thing that does something

A bushwhacker was originally someone who beat through bushes to make a way through the woods. The name later applied to guerrillas fighting from wooded cover, connecting woodland skill with attacks from hiding.

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