Etymology From Middle English lusch (“slack, relaxed, limp, loose”), from Old English *lysċ, lesċ (“slack; limp”), from Proto-West Germanic *laskwī̆, from Proto-Germanic *laskuz, *laskwaz (“weak, false, feeble”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēy- (“to let; leave behind”). Akin to Old English lysu, lesu (“false, evil, base”), Middle Low German lasch (“slack”), Middle High German er-leswen (“to become weak”), Old Norse lǫskr (“weak, feeble”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐍃𐌹𐍅𐍃 (lasiws, “weak, feeble”), Middle Low German las, lasich (“slack, languid, idle”), Low German lusch (“loose”). Doublet of lusk. More at lishey, lazy.
How luſh and luſty the graſſe lookes ? How greene ?1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 6:
2
Dialectal Mellow; soft; (of ground or soil) easily turned; fertile.
3
Of vegetation Dense, teeming with life; luxuriant.
Some of the world’s best rain forest and volcanic hiking can be found within the lush canopied Caribbean trail systems. Chock-full of waterfalls and hot springs, bright-colored birds and howling monkeys, flora-lined trails cut through thick, fragrant forests and up cloud-covered mountains.2006, Stefani Jackenthal, New York Times:
Virmire is a lush world located on the frontier of the Attican Traverse. Its vast seas and orbital position on the inner life zone have created a wide equatorial band of humid, tropical terrain.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Planets: Virmire Codex entry:
2 more examples
European adventurers found themselves within a watery world, a tapestry of streams, channels, wetlands, lakes and lush riparian meadows enriched by floodwaters from the Mississippi River.2013 January 23, Nancy Langston, “The Fraught History of a Watery World”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, archived from the original on 22 Jan 2013, page 59:
The birds survived thanks to the mild weather in Caracas and the lush mountains that surround the city, which are covered with trees that provide macaws with fruits and seeds.2026 April 18, Manuel Rueda, “Caracas' iconic macaws threatened by vanishing palm trees”, in National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.: National Public Radio:
4
Of food Savoury, delicious.
That meal was lush! We have to go to that restaurant again sometime!
5
Thriving; rife; sumptuous.
They rolled into Jane's room a wheeled cart lush with cake and cookies and shrimp and crudités and pop and soda water. The staff was giving us a going-away party for our trip to Seattle; it was good to understand their confidence.2005, Donald Hall, The Best Day the Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 105:
Etymology Perhaps a humorous use of the preceding word, or perhaps from Shelta lush (“food and drink”) (the sense "liquor" is older than the sense "drinker"). The Century Dictionary wrote that it was "said to be so called from one Lushington, a once well-known London brewer", but the Online Etymology Dictionary considers lushington (“drinker”) a humorous extension of lush instead.
Overaged and lecherous lushes at office parties profaning the text, music, and meaning of Christmas carols.1973 December 8, A. Nolder Gay, “Coping With Christmas”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 25, page 3:
I took my flogging like a stone. If I had sung, some of the convicts would have given me some lush with a locust in it (laudanum hocussing), and when I was asleep would have given me a crack on the head that would have laid me straight.1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861:
If your care comes, in the liquor sink it, / Pass along the lush — I'm the boy can drink it.1841, Charles Lever, Charles O'Malley:
3
Hawaii, Slang A person who enjoys talking about themselves.
Etymology Perhaps a humorous use of the preceding word, or perhaps from Shelta lush (“food and drink”) (the sense "liquor" is older than the sense "drinker"). The Century Dictionary wrote that it was "said to be so called from one Lushington, a once well-known London brewer", but the Online Etymology Dictionary considers lushington (“drinker”) a humorous extension of lush instead.
Etymology Perhaps a humorous use of the preceding word, or perhaps from Shelta lush (“food and drink”) (the sense "liquor" is older than the sense "drinker"). The Century Dictionary wrote that it was "said to be so called from one Lushington, a once well-known London brewer", but the Online Etymology Dictionary considers lushington (“drinker”) a humorous extension of lush instead.
“’E generally goes down there when ’e’s got ’is skinful, beggin’ your pardon, sir, an’ they do say that the more lush — in-he-briated ’e is, the more fish ’e catches.”1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 140: