boot

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

boot

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bo͞ot, IPA^(key): /buːt/,
• (Northern England), IPA^(key): /bʏːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /but/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /bʉːt/

  • Audio (AU)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -uːt

Etymology 1

From Middle English boote, bote (“shoe”), from Old French bote (“a high, thick shoe”). Of obscure origin, but probably related to Old French bot (“club-foot”), bot (“fat, short, blunt”), from Old Frankish *butt, from Proto-Germanic *buttaz, *butaz (“cut off, short, numb, blunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewt-, *bʰewd- (“to strike, push, shock”); if so, a doublet of butt. Compare Old Norse butt (“stump”), Low German butt (“blunt, plump”), Old English bytt (“small piece of land”), buttuc (“end”). More at buttock and debut.

Noun

boot (plural boots)

1. A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg.
   1. (sports) A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.
2. A blow with the foot; a kick.
3. (construction) A flexible cover of rubber or plastic, which may be preformed to a particular shape and used to protect a shaft, lever, switch, or opening from dust, dirt, moisture, etc.
4. (usually preceded by definite article) A torture device used on the feet or legs, such as a Spanish boot.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 221:

     The boot, thumbscrews, the shackles, and a contraption called the "warm hose", were only a few of the inflictions being too terrible to mention.

5. (US) A parking enforcement device used to immobilize a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
6. (aviation) A rubber bladder on the leading edge of an aircraft’s wing, which is inflated periodically to remove ice buildup; a deicing boot.
7. (obsolete) A place at the side of a coach, where attendants rode; also, a low outside place before and behind the body of the coach.
8. (archaic) A place for baggage at either end of an old-fashioned stagecoach.
9. (US, military, law enforcement, slang) A recently arrived recruit; a rookie.
10. (Australia, British, New Zealand, South Africa, automotive) The luggage storage compartment of a sedan or saloon car.
    • 1998, Ruth Rendell, A Sight For Sore Eyes, published 2010, page 260:

      He heaved the bag and its contents over the lip of the boot and on to the flagstones. When it was out, no longer in that boot but on the ground, and the bag was still intact, he knew the worst was over.

    • 2003, Keith Bluemel, Original Ferrari V-12 1965-1973: The Restorer's Guide, unnumbered page:

      The body is constructed of welded steel panels, with the bonnet, doors and boot lid in aluminium on steel frames.

    • 2008, MB Chattelle, Richmond, London: The Peter Hacket Chronicles, page 104:

      Peers leant against the outside of the car a lit up her filter tip and watched as Bauer and Putin placed their compact suitcases in the boot of the BMW and slammed the boot lid down.

11. (informal, with definite article) The act or process of removing or firing someone (dismissing them from a job or other post).

    He was useless so he got the boot.

12. (British, slang) An unattractive person, ugly woman.

    old boot

13. (slang, ethnic slur) A black person.
    • 1964 [1957], Colin MacInnes, City of Spades, London: Penguin Books, page 22:

      My Dad has taught me that in England some foolish man may call me sambo, darkie, boot or munt or nigger, even.

14. (firearms) A hard plastic case for a long firearm, typically moulded to the shape of the gun and intended for use in a vehicle.
15. (baseball) A bobbled ball.
16. (botany) The inflated flag leaf sheath of a wheat plant.
17. (slang) A linear amplifier used with CB radio.
    • 1977, New Scientist, volume 74, page 764:

      Because of overcrowding, many a CB enthusiast (called an "apple") is strapping an illegal linear amplifier ("boots") on to his transceiver ("ears") […]

18. (slang, motor racing) A tyre.
19. (US) A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread.

Synonyms

• (shoe): buskin, mukluk
• (blow with foot): kick
• (car storage): trunk (US, Canada), dicky (India)
• (parking enforcement device): wheel clamp
• (sacked, dismissed): firing, layoff
• (end of bread): butt, heel, ender, outsider (Scotland)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Solombala English: бучь (bučʹ)
• → Russian: бутса (butsa)
• → Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic script: бу́це

  Latin script: búce

• → Swahili: buti

Translations

Verb

boot (third-person singular simple present boots, present participle booting, simple past and past participle booted)

1. (transitive) To kick.

   I booted the ball toward my teammate.

   You nearly booted me in the face!

   • 2017 January 14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist‎:

     The one certainty is that the redrafting will delay by several months the general election that was supposed to be held at the end of this year. Mr Prayuth has implied that elections cannot now be held until after King Vajiralongkorn's coronation, which itself cannot take place until after his father's elaborate cremation, scheduled for October. All this boots the long-promised polls well into 2018.

2. To put boots on, especially for riding.
   • 1641, Ben Jonson, Discoveries Made upon Men and Matter‎:

     Coated and booted for it.

3. (colloquial, Canada, US, usually with it) To step on the accelerator of a vehicle for faster acceleration than usual or to drive faster than usual.

   The storm is coming fast! Boot it!

   We had to boot it all the way there to get to our flight on time.

4. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) To apply corporal punishment (compare slippering).
5. (informal) To eject; kick out.

   We need to boot those troublemakers as soon as possible.

   The senator was booted from the committee for unethical behavior.

6. (computing, informal) To disconnect forcibly; to eject from an online service, conversation, etc.
   • 2002, Dan Verton, The Hacker Diaries, page 67:

     As an IRC member with operator status, Swallow was able to manage who was allowed to remain in chat sessions and who got booted off the channel.

   • 2003, John C. Dvorak, Chris Pirillo, Online!, page 173:

     Even flagrant violators of the TOS are not booted.

   • 2002, Jobe Makar, Macromedia Flash Mx Game Design Demystified, page 544:

     In Electroserver, the kick command disconnects a user totally from the server and gives him a message about why he was booted.

7. (slang) To vomit.

   Sorry, I didn’t mean to boot all over your couch.

8. (MLE, criminal slang) To shoot, to kill by gunfire.
   • 2015 November 1, “Dem Man Know”, C4 (814) (lyrics):

     C4 run man through the alley
     Get a man down with the swammy
     Get a man down with the whammy
     Boot couple niggas on the road
     No face no case with the bally (booting)

Usage notes

The more common term for “to eject from a chatroom” etc. is kick.

Synonyms

• (kick): hoof, kick
• (disconnect from online conversation): kick

Derived terms

• boot up the backside, boot up the bum
• booting
• boot one
• boot out
• boot time

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English boote, bote, bot, from Old English bōt (“help, relief, advantage”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōtu, from Proto-Germanic *bōtō (“atonement, improvement”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- (“good”).

Akin to Old Norse bót (“bettering, remedy”) (Danish bod), Gothic 𐌱𐍉𐍄𐌰 (bōta), German Buße. Doublet of bote (a borrowing from Middle English).

Noun

boot (countable and uncountable, plural boots)

1. (archaic, dialectal) Remedy, amends.
   • 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; , volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh:   James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:

     Thou art boot for many a bruise / And healest many a wound.

   • 1820, William Wordsworth, The Prioress' Tale (from Chaucer):

     next her Son, our soul's best boot

2. (uncountable) Profit, plunder.
3. (countable, uncountable) That which is given to make an exchange equal, or to make up for the deficiency of value in one of the things exchanged; compensation; recompense.
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

     I'll give you boot, I'll give you three for one.

   • 2008, Jeffrey H. Rattiner, Financial Planning Answer Book 2009, pages 6–43:

     If mortgaged property is transferred, the amount of the mortgage is part of the boot. If both parties to the transaction transfer mortgages to each other, the party giving up the larger debt treats the excess as taxable boot.

   • 2021, Eli Amir, Marco Ghitti, Financial Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions, page 117:

     If the target retains the boot and uses it for, say, paying its debt, there is taxation on the boot.

4. (obsolete) Profit; gain; advantage; use.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Then talk no more of flight, it is no boot.

5. (obsolete) Repair work; the act of fixing structures or buildings.
6. (obsolete) A medicinal cure or remedy.

Derived terms

• bootless
• to boot

Translations

Verb

boot (third-person singular simple present boots, present participle booting, simple past and past participle booted) (archaic)

1. (transitive or intransitive, impersonal) To be beneficial, to help.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 26, column 2:

     It boots thee not to be compaſsionate, / After our ſentence, plaining comes too late.

   • 1594 (first publication), Christopher Marlow[e], The Trovblesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edvvard the Second, King of England: , London: for Henry Bell, , published 1622, →OCLC, [Act I]:

     It bootes me not to threat, I must ſpeake faire, / The legate of the Pope will be obeyd: […]

   • 1678 Richard Hooker, “A Sermon found in the study of Bishop Andrews” in Izaak Walton, The Life of Dr. Sanderson, late Bishop of Lincoln, London: Richard Marriot, p. 262,

     What booteth it to others that we wish them well, and do nothing for them?

   • 1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XIX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume I, London: R and J Dodsley , published 1760, →OCLC, pages 126–127:

     What could be wanting in my father but to have wrote a book to publiſh this notion of his to the world? Little boots it to the ſubtle ſpeculatiſt to ſtand ſingle in his opinions,—unleſs he gives them proper proper vent: […]

   • 1794, Robert Southey, Wat Tyler. A Dramatic Poem. In Three Acts, London: for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, , published 1817, →OCLC, Act II, page 44:

     Think you that we should quarrel with the French? / What boots to us your victories, your glory? / We pay, we fight, you profit at your ease.

2. (intransitive, impersonal) To matter; to be relevant.
   • 1764 December 24 (indicated as 1765), Onuphrio Muralto, translated by William Marshal [pseudonyms; Horace Walpole], chapter IV, in The Castle of Otranto, , London: Tho Lownds , →OCLC, page 151:

     I will go and offer myſelf to this divorce—it boots not what becomes of me.

   • 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: Printed for John Murray, , →OCLC, stanza LIV, page 30:

     [W]hat subdued / To change like this, a mind so far imbued / With scorn of man, it little boots to know; [...]

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. , volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, , published 1849, →OCLC, page 178:

     What boots whether it be Westminster or a little country spire which covers your ashes, or if, a few days sooner or later, the world forgets you?

3. (transitive, rare) To enrich.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, , page 348, column 2:

     And I will boot thee with what guift beſide / Thy modeſtie can begge.

Translations

Etymology 3

Clipping of bootstrap.

Noun

boot (plural boots)

2. (computing) The act or process of bootstrapping; the starting or re-starting of a computing device.

   It took three boots, but I finally got the application installed.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

boot (third-person singular simple present boots, present participle booting, simple past and past participle booted)

2. (computing) To bootstrap; to start a system, e.g. a computer, by invoking its boot process or bootstrap.

   Synonyms: bootstrap, boot up, start

   Antonyms: shut down, stop, turn off

   When arriving at the office, the first thing I do is boot my machine.

Derived terms

• reboot

Translations

Etymology 4

From bootleg (“to make or sell illegally”), by shortening.

Noun

boot (plural boots)

1. (informal) A bootleg recording.
   • 1999, Tom Fletcher, “Looking for Iron Maiden boot traders”, in alt.music.bootlegs (Usenet):

     I am looking to trade Iron Maiden boots. I have many Iron Maiden bootlegs. I have lots of Metallica. I trade CDR's, tapes and videos.

Translations

Anagrams

• OOTB, boto

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch boot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʊət/,

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

boot (plural bote)

1. boat

References

Bikol Central

Noun

boot

1. Alternative spelling of buot

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch boot, from Middle English bot (“boat, ship”), from Old English bāt, from Proto-West Germanic *bait, from Proto-Germanic *baitaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /boːt/
• (Belgium), (Southern) IPA^(key):

• audio (Belgium)

  (file)

• (Netherlands), (Northern, Randstad) IPA^(key):

• audio (Netherlands)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: boot
• Rhymes: -oːt

Noun

boot m (plural boten, diminutive bootje n)

1. boat

   We gaan dit weekend varen op onze nieuwe boot.

   We're going boating on our new boat this weekend.

   De vissers gebruikten hun kleine bootjes om de zee op te gaan.

   The fishermen used their small boats to go out to sea.

   Het eiland is alleen bereikbaar per boot of per helikopter.

   The island is only accessible by boat or helicopter.

Synonyms

• schip

Hyponyms

• sloep, kayak, kano, pedalo

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: boot
• Negerhollands: boot, bot
• → Caribbean Hindustani: bot
• → Papiamentu: boto
• →? Sranan Tongo: boto
  • → Aukan: boto
  • → Caribbean Javanese: boṭo
  • → Lokono: botu
  • → Saramaccan: bóto

Karao

Noun

boot

1. mold

Mansaka

Etymology

From *buut, from Proto-Austronesian *buhet.

Noun

boot

1. squirrel

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

boot

1. Alternative form of bote (“boot”)

Etymology 2

Noun

boot

1. Alternative form of bote (“help, aid”)

Etymology 3

Noun

boot

1. Alternative form of bot (“boat”)

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• bute

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English boot. Doublet of bota.

Pronunciation

Noun

boot m (plural boots)

1. (computing) boot (the act or process of bootstrapping)
2. (Brazil, chiefly São Paulo, slang) sneaker

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:boot.

Tetum

Adjective

boot

1. big

Woleaian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

boot

1. nose