busy
verb
- to occupy (oneself) in an active way
adjective
- engaged in an activity, not available for other things
- artistic -- pattern characterized by too much going on!
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈbɪz.i/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), Low German besig (“busy”). The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɪ/ is from the dialects of the East Midlands.
- Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
“Be careful crossing that busy street.”
“To-morrow is a busy day.”
- Engaged with or preoccupied by an activity or person.
“The director cannot see you now: he's busy.”
“Her telephone has been busy all day.”
- Having much work to do; having much to get done.
“Near-synonym: swamped”
“Finding the time to work out and cook healthy meals is easily pushed to the wayside in our ordinary, busy lives.”
- Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.
“Flowers, stripes, and checks in the same fabric make for a busy pattern.”
- Officious; meddling.
“I will be hanged if some eternal villain, Some busy and insinuating rogue, Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office, Have not devised this slander; I'll be hanged else.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), Low German besig (“busy”). The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɪ/ is from the dialects of the East Midlands.
- A police officer.
“I remember playing on a building site once and coming across a five-pound note. I could hardly believe it when I spotted it poking out of the rubble. Excitedly, I ran straight home and gave it to my mum. I was hero of the hour until I got into trouble with the busies – the police – soon afterwards for pinching a bottle of milk from a float.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English bisien, from Old English bisgian (“to occupy, employ, trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīgōn. Cognate with Old Frisian bisgia (“to use”).
- To make somebody busy or active; to occupy.
“On my vacation I'll busy myself with gardening.”
“The work busied me all afternoon.”