Buse

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. An obsolete spelling of abuse, meaning to mistreat someone or misuse something through wrongful treatment
2. A rare archaic form of the verb meaning to treat badly, to misapply, or to use something improperly
3. Old spelling for the act of ill-treating a person or wrongly employing a thing for a bad or improper purpose

Etymology: "Buse" was an English name for the buzzard, the broad-winged bird of prey. It came into Middle English from Old French "buson," which descended from Latin "buteo," the name for the same bird. The English word stayed in use for a while but was gradually displaced by its own offspring. That offspring is "buzzard." It was formed in French from "buse" with the suffix "-ard," and English borrowed the resulting "busard" and reshaped it into the form we use today. The older word survives mainly in the history of the modern name, and in the French language, where "buse" still means buzzard.