Bermudan.

Brit.

/bəˈmjuːdə/, U.S.

/bərˈmjudə/, Bermudian English /bɜrˈmjʉdə/

Forms:

α. 1600s Bermoda's, 1600s Bermoodos, 1600s– Bermudas, 1700s Bermuda's.

β. 1700s– Bermuda.

Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Bermuda.

Etymology: < Bermuda, Bermudas, the name of a group of islands in the western North Atlantic and (as Islands of Bermuda) of a British Overseas Territory consisting of these islands.The archipelago was apparently so named in honour of the Spanish seafarer Juan de Bermúdez, the first European to see its islands at the beginning of the 16th cent. The place name is attested in Spanish from the early 16th cent., initially denoting a single island (e.g. la ysla Bermuda (1526), la Bermuda (c1527)), and is found in English contexts from the mid 16th cent. in this use (e.g. the Iland Bermuda (1555)). Plural uses, and singular uses denoting the archipelago more widely, are attested in English contexts from at least the late 16th cent. (e.g. the Bermudas (1591), the Islands..of Bermuda (1598)).

†1. In form Bermudas. A variety of rolled or cigar tobacco. Obsolete.

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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > thing which may be smoked > cigar or cheroot > cigar > type of

Bermuda?a1641

Havana1802

regalia1819

long nine1821

short-six1831

loco-foco1835

Cuba1837

cabana1840

panatela1841

Habanero1845

pickwick1847

colorado maduro1851

colorado1854

colorado claro1854

maduro1854

Henry Clay1855

Trichinopoli chain1863

trichi1877

perfecto1884

claro1891

toby1894

twofera1911

Jamaican1919

?a1641 Duke of Newcastle Country Captain (1999) ii. 50 Will you take Tobacco in the Roll, here is a whole Shiplading of Bermudas.

1641 J. Taylor Complaint M. Tenter-hooke (single sheet) Bermudas, Providentia, Shallowcongo, And the most part of all the rest (Mundungo).

1720 M. Clare Youth's Introd. Trade & Business 102/2 7 Chests of Bermudas Tobacco.

2. A Bermuda onion (see Compounds 1).

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1881 Vick's Monthly Mag. Mar. 89/2 I planted the Giant Rocca along side of the Bermuda, both receiving the same treatment, and to-day the Italians are three to four times as large as the Bermudas.

1915 R. W. Jordan Onions vii. 50 The Texas crop of Bermudas is grown entirely by this method.

2009 Monterey (Calif.) County Herald (Nexis) 20 Aug. I think the straw onions (made with sweet Bermudas) are delicious.

3. In plural. Shorts which end just above the knee; = Bermuda shorts n. at Compounds 3.

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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > short trousers or shorts > types of

panties1845

lederhosen1937

Bermuda shorts1938

walk shorts1944

Bermudas1954

knickers1954

skort1957

Jamaica shorts1959

baggies1962

cut-off1964

Jamaica1964

sleep-shorts1964

hot pants1970

batty riders1992

1954 Tabor City (N. Carolina) Tribune 11 Aug. 6/4 We bet there are others, too, who are just too bashful to admit they wear Bermudas!

1961 Times 11 July 12/6 No right-thinking suburbanite would be seen on his lawn without wearing Bermudas.

2014 H. M. Aidi Rebel Music Prologue p. x They were dressed similarly in sagging denim Bermudas, eighties-style Nike high-tops, and baseball caps.

Compounds

C1. In the names of plants and trees.

Bermuda buttercup n. the goat's foot Oxalis pes-caprae, which is native to South Africa and widely naturalized in other parts of the world, where it is frequently regarded as an invasive species and noxious weed.

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1894 Amer. Gardening Dec. 516/1 Another bulb of very easy cultivation is Oxalis cernua, or as it is sometimes called, the Bermuda buttercup oxalis.

1995 Holiday Which? Mar. 85/3 The North Atlantic Drift brings an early spring to the islands, so March and April are the best time for wild flowers like three-cornered leek, bermuda buttercups and bear's breeches.

2011 San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News (Nexis) 18 Mar. Homeowners and gardeners wanting to eradicate Bermuda buttercup face a tenacious, prolific weed that has devised many successful survival strategies.

Bermuda cedar n. (also Bermudas cedar, †cedar of Bermuda's) a juniper native to Bermuda and now naturalized in Hawaii, Juniperus bermudiana; (also) the hard reddish wood of this tree, previously used in construction and shipbuilding.Up to 99% of native Bermuda cedars were killed following the introduction of scale insects to the island in the mid-twentieth cent., but some scale-resistant populations have survived.

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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > junipers > [noun]

gorsec1000

savinOE

juniper-treea1382

junipera1400

quickena1400

juniperinec1430

cade1575

jeniver1585

melmot1644

oxycedar1646

red cedar1682

cover-shame1694

Bermuda cedar1700

pencil cedar1785

sharp cedar1840

Rocky Mountain juniper1852

tuckamore1863

tucking-bush1890

1700 J. Petiver Musei Petiveriani viii. 75 The Cedar of Bermuda's.

1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 2 Strongly scented, extreamly like, if not the same with the Bermudas Cedar.

1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxix. 460 Bermuda Cedar is..imported for casing black lead in pencils.

1836 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants (rev. ed.) 848 Juniperus bermudiana, Bermudas Cedar.

1931 G. H. Kemper in Methods Handling Amer. Lumber in Mexico, Central Amer., & West Indies (U.S. Dept. Commerce) 26 The only domestic wood used in the building trade is the Bermuda cedar or juniper.

2004 Wildlife Conservation Feb. 34/3 A few Bermuda cedars had resisted the blight.

Bermuda grass n. chiefly U.S. a quick-growing grass common in warm regions of the world and used for pasture and lawns, Cynodon dactylon.Also called Bahama grass, dog's tooth grass.

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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > dog's-tooth

dog's tooth1600

Bermuda grass1801

Bahama grass1808

doob1810

sun grass1810

yard-grass1822

quick grass1838

kweek grass1904

1801 T. Brown Let. 8 Mar. in Ann. Agric. (1803) 40 393 Bermuda grass, though not much relished by stock, unless young, covers the ground more completely than any species I know.

1906 F. Lynde Quickening 11 The dooryard with its thick turf of uncut Bermuda grass.

2001 Beef Jan. 15/2 By sprigging Bermuda grass, the Morgans converted less productive cropland into pasture that helps stabilize the land and protect natural resources.

Bermuda lily n. a white-flowering lily, Lilium longiflorum, formerly much cultivated in Bermuda and frequently used as a cut flower for decoration at Easter; esp. one of the variety L. longiflorum var. eximium.Cf. Easter lily n. 1a.

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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > lilies

lily971

lily-flower1340

martagon1440

delucea1450

red lily1531

purple lily1578

mountain lily1597

gold lily1629

Turk's cap1672

turn-cap1688

Juno's rose1706

orange lily1731

Canada lily1771

Japan lily1813

tiger-lily1824

Annunciation lily1853

Easter lily1860

golden-rayed lily1865

scarlet martagon1867

Japanese lily1870

Madonna lily1877

Bermuda lily1882

thimble lily1883

panther lily1884

triplet lily1884

turban-lily1884

Mary-lily1893

tiger1901

leopard lily1902

lilium1902

swamp lily1902

Washington lily1911

Shasta lily1915

regal lily1916

regale1920

Oregon lily1925

1882 Times (Philadelphia) 2 Apr. 5/1 It was anticipated by the trade..that the well-known calla, which has reigned supreme for so long, would be supplanted to a considerable extent this year by the Bermuda lily, or lilium harrisii, a magnificent white flower, improved from the old lilium longiflorum.

1915 I. Ostrander Primal Law xi. 176 She smiled to herself as she lifted from their soft wrappings a great cluster of Bermuda lilies.

2011 C. R. Wilson in C. R. Wilson & H. H. Jackson New Encycl. Southern Culture XVI. 288/1 Southerners enjoy the traditional symbols of Easter. The Bermuda lily (or simply, Easter lily) is widely displayed in churches, homes, and businesses.

Bermuda onion n. any of several large varieties of the common onion having white or yellow skin and a sweet mild flavour; (also) a plant producing such an onion.Onions of this type were introduced to Bermuda in the seventeenth cent. and were commercially grown there and in the southern United States until the mid-twentieth cent., when they were replaced by higher-yielding varieties.

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1841 Alexandria (Virginia) Gaz. 27 July 3000 lbs. Bermuda Onions, in fine order.

1911 F. M. Farmer Catering for Special Occasions iv. 83 Peel six large Bermuda onions and remove a part of the inside.

2010 S. Gilbertie & L. Sheehan Small-plot High-yield Gardening i. 19 White onions, yellow onions, Bermuda onions,..garlic, and garlic chive all possess the same off-putting characteristics for bugs.

C2. Compounds relating to a type of rigging for sailing vessels developed on the Bermuda Islands.

a. As a modifier, designating a part of a Bermuda rig or a vessel fitted with a Bermuda rig. See Bermuda rig n. at Compounds 2b.See also Bermuda sloop n.

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1826 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 378/2 He..puts down the helm of his tail, and bearing up in the wind's eye, beats back, in a style that would astonish a Bermuda schooner.

2008 F. Bethwaite Higher Performance Sailing xxi. 281 The development in the 1960s of the flexible Bermuda mast and dedicated adjustment controls enabled crews to reset the shape of their sails quickly.

Bermuda rig n. a fore-and-aft rig with tall, triangular sails, now commonly used on yachts.Cf. Bermudan rig n. at Bermudan adj. and n. Compounds, Bermudian rig n. at Bermudian n. and adj. Compounds, Marconi n. 2.

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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > [noun] > arrangement of masts sails > types of

Bermudian rig1827

Bermuda rig1829

shoulder of mutton rig1831

Bermudan rig1863

cat-rig1867

square-rig1875

1829 J. Fincham On Masting Ships & Mast Making 31 In Bermuda rig, the height of the nock of the main-sail is commonly the breadth x by 2.2 to 2.4.

1853 R. Kipping Mast-making & Rigging ii. 5 Brig Forward, Common, and Bermuda Rig.

1928 Daily Mail 9 Aug. 19/7 Most sailing men agree that the Bermuda rig is preferable for smaller boats.

2000 C. J. Doane Howard's Handbk. Offshore Cruising (ed. 2) iii. 21 The Bermuda rig permits a taller mast and a mainsail with a long straight luff.

Bermuda-rigged adj. fitted with a Bermuda rig.

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1830 Bell's Life in London 25 Apr. One fine little vessel (the Meteor) will start, Bermuda rigged, which has never yet been tried in any match.

2015 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) (Nexis) 22 Feb. 5 The three-masted Bermuda-rigged schooner..found room to berth.

Bermuda sloop n. a single-masted, fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel with tall, triangular sails.

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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > with specific rig > fore and aft rigged > Bermudian-rigged

Bermuda sloop1687

Bermudian1840

1687 in State Papers: Colonial N. Amer. & W. Indies (P.R.O.: CO 1/63) f. 92 Hee then and there saw a Bermoodos sloope, (w^h the Spanniards, viz^t, Two Biskayers shipps & one Barkalongo;) had that Day taken there.

1766 St. James's Chron. 15–18 Mar. Remain the Cruiser and Bermuda Sloops.

1948 Mariner's Mirror 34 53 Plans of the Bermuda sloop Lady Hammond..appear to have been ‘take-off’ plans rather than designs.

2015 A. Johnson Fortune Smiles 228 ‘It's actually a sloop,’ I tell her. ‘A Bermuda sloop, rigged to sail alone.’

C3. Other compounds.

Bermuda high n. Meteorology a semi-permanent area of high atmospheric pressure in the North Atlantic Ocean, which is located near Bermuda in summer and autumn.In winter and spring, this area of high pressure moves east towards the Azores, and it is also known as the Azores high.

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1875 J. H. Tice Elem. Meteorol.: Meteorol. Cycles ii. 104 The course that storms originating in the Gulf of Mexico will take northeastward, toward the Icelandic low barometer, depends upon the position of the Bermuda..permanent high barometer.]

1915 Monthly Weather Rev. 1914 (U.S.) 42 675/1 It clearly follows that the Bermuda ‘high’ and, therefore, the temperature of the eastern United States must depend in part upon the Labrador current.

1959 R. E. Huschke Gloss. Meteorol. 66 Bermuda high, the semi-permanent subtropical high of the North Atlantic Ocean, so named especially when it is located in the western part of the ocean.

2019 Reading (Pa.) Eagle (Nexis) 17 July It's a typical East Coast heat wave with the Bermuda high.

Bermuda shorts n. shorts which end just above the knee; cf. sense 3. [Similar shorts were originally part of the uniform of British forces in tropical climates; they were reportedly adopted into civilian use by American tourists in Bermuda.]

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