Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BUSSY, BUSSIE, adj. Bushy, lit. and fig. (Bnff.², Ags.¹ 1937). Cf. buskie s.v. Busk. n.m.Sc. 1988 William Neill Making Tracks 51:
O braid bussie bourtree
yir flooers are aa gane,
yir leaf flitters doun nou,
yir berries are taen, ... Lnk. 1893 J. Crawford Sc. Verses and Sangs 30:
Whiles tig-tow-hett, whiles hide-an'-seek Amang the bussy trees.Rxb. 1821 A. Scott Poems 38:
Like nag's tail bussy, black, and lang, His locks owre his swarthy haffats hang!

Comb.: bussie broos, the native sheep of Ork., so called because of the tuft of wool on their forehead.Ork. 1908 J. Firth in Old-Lore Misc., Ork., Sh., etc. I. viii. 307:
Before the division of the Orkney commonties, which were separated from the infield by a strong feal dyke to protect the crops and pasture lands during the summer months from the incursions of the native sheep or “bussie broos” which roamed at large over hill and dale, every householder was a sheep-owner.