Have you ever thought of how many different meanings one single word can have? It is interesting how many different meanings the word bug has.  All of the various slang definitions of bug are very different in meaning, origin, and the dates in which they first appeared, although a few of the definitions can be compared to one another.

        The phrase that I believe should be the main standard dictionary definition of bug is, “You’re bugging me.”  I use this phrase very often and I always hear many other people using it also.  One would use this phrase to let an annoying person know that they are being bothersome. To annoy, irritate,” is the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of this slang usage of the word.  This is one of the most widely used forms of bug.  As for now this phrase is considered to be slang, but I believe that someday it will be recognized as an actual dictionary definition because so many people use it.
One can use the phrase, “What’s bugging you?” if they notice that a friend or family member is upset about something and they want to talk to their friend or family member about what it is that is bugging them.  This is another common phrase.  Saying, “What’s bugging you,” is the equivalent to saying, “What is bothering you?”

        “The Oxford English Dictionary describes bug as, “A name given vaguely to various insects, especially of the beetle kind, also to grubs, larvae of insects.”  A few examples of this definition would be potato bug, June bug, and ladybug. This is also a very common use of bug.  In 1642 Roger Naaman describes an ant as, “The poorest bugge that creeps.”  Notice that Naaman’s spelling of bugge, which is of Welsh origin, differs from the spelling of bug in present times.  Over time the e on the end was dropped and bugge became bugg.  Over more time the second g was also dropped and bugg became bug, as it is still spelled today.  The longer spelling was used until about the 1700’s.

        The Oxford English Dictionary also describes bug as, “A person obsessed with an idea; an enthusiast.”  Litterbugs and firebugs are examples of this definition of bug.  The first recorded use of this type of bug was in 1841.  Printed in an issue of the Globe was an article that had a sentence that read,  “Mr.Alford of Georgia warned the ‘tariff bugs’ of the South that….”.  The third (O.E.D.) definition that is given is “A defect or fault in a machine.”  One might say that there is a bug in the computer program, meaning that there is a virus or malfunction in the program.  An example of this is the recent Y2K concern.  Many people are worried that there is going to be a Y2K bug.  If there is many computer systems will have a major malfunction.

        Bug is also defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, “Schoolboys’ slang for boy.”  This use of the word was used mainly just in the early nineteen hundreds.  A mother might have called her son a little bug.  One might say, “You’re as cute as a bug.”  In 1960 in Custard Boys the word bug was used in this sentence, “You’re new Curlew, and new bugs should be seen and not heard.”

        Some people may say that there is a bug going around whenever a lot of people are getting sick with the same symptoms at close to the same time.  That goes with the O.E.D. definition, “A microbe or germ; also, a disease.”  An example of this is the flu-bug.  It seems as though whenever one person in a household comes down with the flu it’s not long before everyone else in the house has the flu too.
“A concealed microphone.” (O.E.D.)  In many police investigations the authorities use hidden microphones so that the criminal(s) confess to their crime without even knowing that they confessed, and their confession can be recorded.  The recorded confession may help the authorities to punish the criminal(s) when used in court.  The room that the criminal is in is, “bugged.”  In 1948 written in Murder can be Fun was, “There’s been a bug on your phone line for three days.”  This definition originated in the United States.

        Another definition of bug found in the Oxford English Dictionary is, “ Of the eyes: to bulge out.”  If someone is scared one might say to them, “Your eyes are bugging out of your head!”  Also, if someone has big eyes they might be referred to as to having, “bug eyes.”  Mark Twain is noted twice for using bug to refer to this definition of the word.  Once in 1877 he wrote, “His dead-lights were bugged out like tompions; and his mouth stood wide open.”  Another time in 1883 Mark Twain wrote, “Wouldn’t their eyes bug out, to see ‘em handled like that?”  This slang meaning of bug also originated in the United States.

        In 1959 in Paul Slickey, it stated, “ It will surely bug you when there is no man to hug…You will be bugged forever.”  The word bug even has a slang meaning in the automobile industry.  The Volkswagen Beetle is sometimes referred to as a VW bug.  Someone might say, “I like your new bug,” referring to their car.  I am not sure, but I am guessing that this originated in Germany, which is the country in which Volkswagens are manufactured.  This slang usage of bug has been used as long as the Volkswagen Beetle has been around.  This meaning of bug is most used by hippie teenagers.

        The earliest known usage of the term bug was in 1388.  Wyclif Baruch wrote, “As a bugge, either a man of raggis in a place where gourdis wexen.”  That quote goes along with the Oxford English Dictionary definition, “ An object of terror, usually an imaginary one; a bugbear, a hobgoblin, bogy; a scarecrow.”  This use of the word became less popular when bug started to be used to desribe an insect.  This reminds me of the saying, “Don’t let the bed-bugs bite.”  I believe that this saying may have come into existence by tying together insect and object of terror.  Many people do not like bugs especially the thought of them being in bed with them, so therefore; an insect becomes an object of terror.

        Numerous of the older uses of bug are still used today and basically in the same way.  Even William Shakespeare has used bug in his works.  In 1593 Shakespeare wrote, “Warwicke was a bugge that fear’d us all.  This was written in Henry VI.  Shakespeare used bug under the meaning, “An object of terror…a scarecrow.”(O.E.D.)  Different forms of bug (bugge) have been used in various works of literature all throughout the centuries.  Almost all of the definitions of bug originated and are chiefly used in the United States.  Only a few are originally from other countries.

        Many people today use the phrase; “You’re bugged out; or quit bugging out.” “You’re freaked out,” is a slang phrase that means basically the same thing.  Another slang phrase that has close to the same meaning is, “She/he is spazing out.”    Someone who is, “bugging out,” may be paranoid as a result of being high on drugs.  For example, someone who is having a bad acid trip may be bugging out.  Freaking out doesn’t refer as much to drugs as bugging out does.

        The phrase that I use the most out of all of the slang and Proper English definitions of bug is, “You’re bugging me.  I have used this phrase many times when speaking to my brothers, other family members, and friends.  I will say, “Get away from me, you’re bugging me.”  This use of the word can be compared to the use of the word that means, “An insect.”  I believe that bugging came about because insects bother people the same way that annoying people bother the people that they are bugging.  When a bug is around someone the person would most likely shoe it away.  When a person is, bugging someone the person who is being bugged would most likely be happy to get away from the person who is bugging him or her.  So, I believe that the slang form of bug that I am writing about most likely was first used because of its connection to the insect.

        Having two older brothers has forced me to frequently use the phrase; “You’re bugging me.”  I have used this as long as I can remember.  For example, whenever one of brothers would start pulling my hair or punching me in the arm I would say, “Please stop bugging me.”  Of course I am not the only one to use the phrase, many other people have said it to me whenever I was bugging them.  I believe that this is a good phrase to use, because it is not used to hurt someone’s feelings. Mainly it is just meant to tease or to tell the person to leave you alone in a light, friendly way.  Bug is a funny sounding word, so it would be hard to use it in a really hateful way.

        A conventional dictionary gives a very simple definition for bug.  I looked up the word in Webster’s Dictionary.  Webster’s definition of bug is “A small insect, listening device.”  “A small insect,” is an important definition of bug, but I do not think that, “Listening device,” is an important definition.  “Bugging,” is definitely more commonly used then, “Listening device.”  It is not just teenagers that are using bugging as a slang term; my parents tell me all of the time that I am bugging them.  People of all ages use this form of bug.

        Every different meaning of bug is unique.  Some of the definitions have been around for a long time and some are newer.  It seems as though none of the uses of the word ever really stop being used, unlike some of the slang terms that come and go within a matter of a few years.  I don’t think that the phrase, “You’re bugging me,” will ever fade away.  In fact I believe that it will become an actual dictionary definition and will be more widely used then ever.

Katie Becker