budge

A kind of fur prepared from lambskin dressed with the wool on, formerly used as an edging and ornament, especially on scholastic habits.

Adjective

  1. austere or stiff, like scholastics
    • Those budge doctors of the stoic fur. - 1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine...
    • The solemn fop; significant and budge; A fool with judges, amongst fools a judge, He says but little and that little said, 'Owes all its weight, like loaded dice, to lead. - 1784, John Wesley, The Magazine of the...
    • "My boy looked at me very budge," i.e., solemn. - 1931, The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, page 684:

Origin

From Middle English bouge, bougie, bugee, from Anglo-Norman bogé, from Anglo-Latin *bogea, bulgia, related to Latin bulga (“a leathern bag or knapsack”). Doublet of bulge.

Derived

budge bachelor budge barrel

Noun Entry 2

  1. A kind of fur prepared from lambskin dressed with the wool on, formerly used as an edging and ornament, especially on scholastic habits.
    • They are become so liberal, as to part freely with their own budge-gowns from off their backs. - 1649, John Milton, Observations:
    • One hundred pieces of green silk for the Knights; fourteen budge furs for surcoats; thirteen hoods of budge for clerks, and seventy furs of lamb for liveries in summer. - 1787, An Historical and Chronological Deduction...

Noun obsolete, slang

  1. Alcoholic drink.

Origin

Perhaps related to booze.

Derived

budgy

Verb

  1. To move; to be shifted from a fixed position.
    • I’ve been pushing this rock as hard as I can, but it won’t budge an inch.
    • Ile not budge an inch boy: Let him come, and kindly. - c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:...
    • […]although his ſouldiers were much moved and offended to ſee their fellowes put to the worſt, he could not be induced to bouge from his place[…] - 1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Of the batell of Dreux”, in John Florio,...
  2. To move; to shift from a fixed position.
    • I’ve been pushing this rock as hard as I can, but I can’t budge it.
  3. To yield in one’s opinions or beliefs.
    • The Minister for Finance refused to budge on the new economic rules.
    • If only I could get Ambrose to take me away somewhere! But he won't budge. - 1933, Richard Curle, Corruption, page 75:
  4. To cut or butt (in line); to join the front or middle rather than the back of a queue.
    • Hey, no budging! Don't budge in line!
  5. To try to improve the spot of a decision on a sports field.

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French bouger, from Old French bougier, from Vulgar Latin *bullicāre (“to bubble; seethe; move; stir”), from Latin bullīre (“to boil; seethe; roil”). More at boil.

Forms

budges budging budged bouge budg

Synonyms

shift

Derived

budgeable budge an inch budger budge the needle budge up unbudged unbudging