boot

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

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.
   The boot, thumbscrews, the shackles, and a contraption called the "warm hose", were only a few of the inflictions being too terrible to mention. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 221
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, Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, automotive) The luggage storage compartment of a sedan or saloon car.
    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. 1998, Ruth Rendell, A Sight For Sore Eyes, published 2010, page 260
    The body is constructed of welded steel panels, with the bonnet, doors and boot lid in aluminium on steel frames. 2003, Keith Bluemel, Original Ferrari V-12 1965-1973: The Restorer's Guide, unnumbered page
    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. 2008, MB Chattelle, Richmond, London: The Peter Hacket Chronicles, page 104
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. (Britain, slang) An unattractive person, ugly woman.
    old boot
13. (slang, ethnic slur) A black person.
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.
    Because of overcrowding, many a CB enthusiast (called an "apple") is strapping an illegal linear amplifier ("boots") on to his transceiver ("ears") […] 1977, New Scientist, volume 74, page 764
18. (slang, motor racing) A tyre.
19. (US) A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread.

verb

1. (transitive) To kick.
   I booted the ball toward my teammate.
   You nearly booted me in the face!
   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. 2017-01-14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist
2. To put boots on, especially for riding.
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. 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. (often with up) To start or restart a computer or other electronic system; to bootstrap.
   Boot up the system before 8 a.m. on weekdays.
7. (computing, informal) To disconnect forcibly; to eject from an online service, conversation, etc.
   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. 2002, Dan Verton, The Hacker Diaries, page 67
   Even flagrant violators of the TOS are not booted. 2003, John C. Dvorak, Chris Pirillo, Online!, page 173
   In Electroserver, the kick command disconnects a user totally from the server and gives him a message about why he was booted. 2002, Jobe Makar, Macromedia Flash Mx Game Design Demystified, page 544
8. (slang) To vomit.
   Sorry, I didn’t mean to boot all over your couch.
9. (MLE, criminal slang) To shoot, to kill by gunfire.
   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) 2015-11-01, “Dem Man Know”, C4 (814) (lyrics)

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

1. (archaic, dialectal) Remedy, amends.
   next her Son, our soul's best boot 1820, William Wordsworth, The Prioress' Tale (from Chaucer)
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.
   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. 2008, Jeffrey H. Rattiner, Financial Planning Answer Book 2009, pages 6–43
   If the target retains the boot and uses it for, say, paying its debt, there is taxation on the boot. 2021, Eli Amir, Marco Ghitti, Financial Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions, page 117
4. (obsolete) Profit; gain; advantage; use.
5. (obsolete) Repair work; the act of fixing structures or buildings.
6. (obsolete) A medicinal cure or remedy.

verb

1. (transitive or intransitive, impersonal) To be beneficial, to help.
   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?
2. (intransitive, impersonal) To matter; to be relevant.
3. (transitive, rare) To enrich.

Etymology 3

Clipping of bootstrap.

noun

1. (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.

verb

1. (computing) To bootstrap; to start a system, e.g. a computer, by invoking its boot process or bootstrap.
   When arriving at the office, the first thing I do is boot my machine.

Etymology 4

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

noun

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