Can a Bunting Bunt?



In answer to Tom’s question whether bunting, the bird, and a bunt in baseball are connected, I have to say that there is no connection. The name of the bird may come from a Scots word meaning plump. The baseball maneuver came from a word that meant to strike or push.

It’s interesting to see the various meanings attached to the basic spelling.

BUNT v.
·      to stop the ball with the bat without swinging it  [1889]
·      to haul up the middle part of a sail  [1611]
·      to sift meal   [1340]

BUNT  n.
·      the bag-shaped part of a sail or net   [1582]
·      a parasitic fungoid that attacks wheat   [1601]
·      a portion of the stem of corn   [1775]
·      an instrument for sifting meal   [1796]
·      the tail of a rabbit   [1805]
·      a medium quality of firewood   [1884]
·      an extra profit or gain   [1851]
·      the action of stopping a ball with a bat without swinging it   [1889]
·      an aerobatic maneuver involving half an outside loop followed by a half roll   [1932]

BUNTING n.
·      the name of a bird related to the lark   [1325]
·      the swelling of a sail or a net   [1681]
·      cloth made for constructing flags, banners, etc.  [1742]

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