Etymology

honeybush

H4O1N1E1Y4B3U1S1H4

Today it means: Any of a group of bushes in the genus Cyclopia whose flowers smell of honey and whose leaves are used to make an herbal tea. Full definition →

Afrikaans heuningbos
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The story

  1. Afrikaans · calque ofheuningbos
  2. English todayhoneybush

From honey + bush; for the South African plant, a calque of Afrikaans heuningbos (heuning + bos). Compare related borrowing rooibos (literally “redbush”) from rooi (“red”) + bos (“bush”).

Words from the same roots

Afrikaansheuningbos all →

heuningbos

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.