BUCK. (I) The male of the fallow-deer and of goats, hares and rabbits. [O.E. buc, a he-goat.] In the 18th century the word was used of a spirited, reckless young man of fashion. (2) The bleaching of clothes in lye, also the lye itself, and the clothes to be bleached, so a "buck-basket" means a basket of clothes for the wash (cf. the Ger. Bauch, Fr. bode). (3) Possibly from an obsolete word meaning "body," now only found in compound words, as "buck-board," a light, four-wheeled vehicle originally having one or more seats on a springy board serving both as springs and body; a "buck-wagon" (Dutch bok-wagen) is a South African cart with a frame projecting over the wheels, used for the transport of heavy loads. (4) A verb meaning "to leap," from "buck," a he-goat (or cf. Ger. biicken, and Eng. "bow," to bend). Seen in the compound "buck-jumper," a horse which leaps clear off the ground, with feet tucked together and arched back, descending with fore-feet rigid and head down.
or (Menyanthes trifoliata, a member of the Gentianaceae), a bog-plant with a creeping stem, alternately arranged large leaves each with three leaflets, and spikes of white or pink flowers. The stout stem is bitter and has tonic and febrifuge properties. The plant is widely distributed through the north temperate zone.