bunny

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ˈbʌ.ni/
• Rhymes: -ʌni

Etymology 1

From Middle English bune (“hollow stalk or stem, drinking straw”), from Old English bune (“cup, beaker, drinking vessel; reed, cane”), of unknown origin. Related to English bun, boon (“the stalk of flax or hemp less the fibre”), Scots bune, boon, been, see bun, boon. Compare also bunweed.

Noun

bunny (plural bunnies)

1. (UK dialectal) A culvert or short covered drain connecting two ditches.
2. (UK dialectal) A chine or gully formed by water running over the edge of a cliff; a wooded glen or small ravine opening through the cliff line to the sea.
3. (UK dialectal) Any small drain or culvert.
4. (UK dialectal) A brick arch or wooden bridge, covered with earth across a drawn or carriage in a water-meadow, just wide enough to allow a hay-wagon to pass over.
5. (UK dialectal) A small pool of water.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bony, boni (“swelling, tumor”), from Old French bugne, buigne (“swelling, lump”), from Old Frankish *bungjo (“swelling, bump”), from Proto-Germanic *bungô, *bunkô (“lump, clump, heap, crowd”). More at bunion, bunch.

Alternative forms

• bunney, bonie

Noun

bunny (plural bunnies)

1. (UK dialectal) A swelling from a blow; a bump.
2. (mining) A sudden enlargement or mass of ore, as opposed to a vein or lode.

Etymology 3

From bun (“rabbit”) +‎ -y.

Noun

bunny (plural bunnies)

1. A rabbit, especially a juvenile.
2. A bunny girl: a nightclub waitress who wears a costume having rabbit ears and tail.
3. (sports) In basketball, an easy shot (i.e., one right next to the bucket) that is missed.
4. (South Africa) bunny chow; a snack of bread filled with curry
   • 2008, Steve Pike, Surfing South Africa (page 258)

     Surfers from Durban grew up on bunnies. You get the curry in the bread with the removed square chunk, used to dunk back in the curry.

Derived terms

Terms derived from bunny

angst bunny badge bunny bunny girl bunny rabbit

cuddle bunny dust bunny Easter Bunny gym bunny

snuggle bunny that's the bunny bunny wunny snow bunny

Translations

young rabbit

• Catalan: catxap (ca) m, conillet (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小兔 (cmn) (xiǎotù), 小兔子 (cmn) (xiǎotùzi)

• Dutch: konijn (nl)
• Finnish: pupu (fi), kani (fi)
• French: lapereau (fr) m
• German: Kaninchen (de) n, Hase (de) m, Häschen (de) n (diminutive), Häslein (de) n (diminutive), Hoppelhäslein (de) n (diminutive), Karnickel (de) n (colloquial), Schlappohr (de) n (humorous)
• Hebrew: שפנפן (he) (shfanfan) m, שפנפנה (he) (shfanfana) f
• Hungarian: nyuszi (hu)
• Italian: coniglietto (it) m

• Korean: 토끼 (ko) (tokki)
• Macedonian: зајаче (mk) (zajače) n
• Norwegian: hare (no) m, harepus (no) m
• Polish: króliczek (pl) m
• Portuguese: coelhinho (pt) m
• Romanian: iepuraș (ro)
• Russian: (rabbit) кролик (ru) (królik) m, (young rabit) крольчонок (ru) (krol’čónok) m, (young hare) зайчик (ru) (zájčik) m
• Sicilian: cunigghieddu (scn) m
• Spanish: conejito (es) m, gazapo (es) m
• Volapük: (♂♀) kroligül (vo), (♂) hikroligül (vo), (♀) jikroligül (vo), (♂♀) krolig yunik (vo), (♂) hikrolig yunik (vo), (♀) jikrolig yunik (vo)

women in a costume of rabbit ears and tail

• Catalan: conilleta (ca) f
• Finnish: puputyttö (fi)
• Hebrew: שפנפנה (he) (shfanfana) f
• Hungarian: nyuszi (hu), Play Boy-nyuszi (hu)

• Italian: coniglietta (it) f
• Polish: króliczek (pl) m
• Portuguese: coelhinha (pt) f
• Spanish: conejita (es) f

Adjective

bunny (comparative more bunny, superlative most bunny)

1. (not comparable) In skiing, easy or unchallenging.

   Let’s start on the bunny hill.

Synonyms

• (easy, unchallenging, of a slope): nursery

Etymology 4

From bun (“small breadroll”) +‎ -y.

Adjective

bunny (comparative more bunny, superlative most bunny)

1. Resembling a bun

Synonyms

• (resembling a bun): bunlike