Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French buee ‎(“laundry, wash”), from Vulgar Latin *bucāta ‎(“laundry”, literally “soaked”), from Vulgar Latin *bucāre ‎(“to soak, wash”), from Frankish *būkōn ‎(“to soak, wash”), from Proto-Germanic *būkōną ‎(“to soak”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhAuǵ- ‎(“a kind of leaf-bearing tree”). Cognate with Middle High German būchen, biuchen ‎(“to wash out with lye”), Middle Dutch būken, buyken ‎(“to wash in beech lye”), Middle English bouken ‎(“to soak in a lye solution”). More at beech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɥe/