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bushel

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An English unit of dry capacity equal to eight gallons or four pecks, approximately 2,150 cubic inches; fundamental to grain measurement.

Detailed Definition
The bushel, measuring eight gallons or about 35.2 liters (2,150 cubic inches), was essential to grain trade and agricultural measurement. Biblical phrase "hide one's light under a bushel" made it metaphorically significant. The bushel measured wheat, oats, barley, and produce. In poetry concerning agriculture, harvest, markets, or abundance, bushel provides common measurement familiar to readers yet grounded in traditional practice. The term evokes harvest time, agricultural plenty, market commerce, and rural life. Poets employed bushels extensively when treating agricultural themes, using both literal measurement and metaphorical associations with plenty, concealment, or modest quantity.
Example
Example in poetry:
The biblical phrase "hide your light under a bushel" appears frequently in religious poetry as metaphor for concealing talents or truth; Harvest poetry traditionally references bushels to convey abundance: "forty bushels of wheat, the barn floor golden with grain"; In American agricultural poetry, Frost and others use "bushels per acre" to ground rural narratives in farming reality; Market poetry might describe "the farmer sold three bushels of apples, counting out payment coin by coin" to capture commercial exchange; Poetry about poverty and plenty could contrast "lean years of single bushels" against "abundant harvests, bushels overflowing"; Modern poets exploring rural decline might write "grandfather measured in bushels; now the grain elevator measures in metric tons—even abundance has changed its language."
Additional Notes
The bushel's metaphorical use ("hide your light under a bushel" from Matthew 5:15) makes it one of the few archaic measures most students already know, though often without recognizing its literal measurement meaning. Understanding that 1 bushel = 4 pecks = 8 gallons (dry measure) = 2,150 cubic inches helps students grasp nested measurement relationships. The bushel remains legally defined in the United States and appears in agricultural contexts (bushels per acre for crop yields). Students should recognize the bushel's dual role: practical agricultural measurement and biblical metaphor for concealment. In agricultural poetry from Frost to contemporary verse, bushels convey harvest abundance and rural economy. The term appears extensively in market scenes, farming narratives, and discussions of plenty versus scarcity. Related measures include peck, coomb, seam, and quarter, all part of English dry measure system. Students writing about agriculture, harvest, or rural life will encounter bushels frequently—understanding both literal and metaphorical uses enriches interpretation. The bushel's tangibility (unlike abstract "tons") makes it effective for conveying agricultural abundance in concrete terms.
Also Known As
bushel measure
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