Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “boot” come from?

I can't write this etymology summary because the chain provided only repeats "English bootleg" and "English leg" without showing progression to older languages or establishing an actual etymology. A valid chain requires movement through different languages or earlier forms showing how the word developed. To write an accurate one-sentence origin summary, I would need a chain that traces boot back through actual etymological stages (for example: English boot > Old French bote > possibly Frankish or another source language), with original spellings preserved and semantic development clear. Could you provide the actual etymological chain for "boot"?

boot (English): A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg; A blow...

Definitions

  1. A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg; A blow...

Ancestry of “boot”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbotteboot; something resembling a boot; oppression
2Italianbottablow, hit, shock, knock, attack
3Italianbottare—
4Frenchbouterto push; to remove flesh from the skin of an...
5Middle Frenchbouterto pull
6Old Frenchbouterto strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter
7Frankishbautanto push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,...
8Proto-West Germanicbautanto beat
9Proto-Germanicbautanąto beat, push
10Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewd-to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,...
11Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰew-to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...

Words derived from “boot”

  • bootstrap
  • reboot
  • bootleg
  • bootless
  • bootable
  • bootlegging
  • bootlegger
  • bootmaker
  • bootblack
  • bootjack
  • bootlace
  • gumboot
  • multiboot
  • booter
  • unbootable
  • bootheel
  • bootmaking
  • bootlicker
  • bootstrapper
  • bootlick
  • bootprint
  • bootboy
  • bootlessly
  • autoboot
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰew- →