Where does “bootblack” come from?
bootblack (English) comes from English boot, from French botte, from Italian botta, from Italian bottare, from French bouter, from Middle French bouter, from Old French bouter, from Frankish bautan — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...
bootblack (English): A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an...
Definitions
- A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an...
Ancestry of “bootblack”, step by step
bootblack traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English boot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boot | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg; A blow... |
| 2 | French | botte | boot; something resembling a boot; oppression |
| 3 | Italian | botta | blow, hit, shock, knock, attack |
| 4 | Italian | bottare | — |
| 5 | French | bouter | to push; to remove flesh from the skin of an... |
| 6 | Middle French | bouter | to pull |
| 7 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 8 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
via English Black
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Black | Alternative letter-case form of black |
| 2 | Old French | blanc | white |
| 3 | Late Latin | blancus | white |
| 4 | Frankish | blank | bright; gleaming, white, blinding; bright,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *blank | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | blankaz | bright, shining, white, gleaming, blinding |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bhleg- | to shine, white; to shine, burn, scorch |