Where does “bootleg ground” come from?

bootleg ground (English) comes from English bootleg, from English boot, from French botte, from Italian botta, from Italian bottare, from French bouter, from Middle French bouter, from Old French bouter — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...

bootleg ground (English): A type of false ground (earth) in electrical circuits, created by wiring the grounding circuit (green wire, bare copper wire) to the neutral circuit (cold wire, white wire)

Definitions

  1. A type of false ground (earth) in electrical circuits, created by wiring the grounding circuit (green wire, bare copper wire) to the neutral circuit (cold wire, white wire)

Ancestry of “bootleg ground”, step by step

bootleg ground traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English bootleg

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbootlegTo make, transport and/or sell illegal alcoholic...
2EnglishbootA heavy shoe that covers part of the leg; A blow...
3Frenchbotteboot; something resembling a boot; oppression
4Italianbottablow, hit, shock, knock, attack
5Italianbottare
6Frenchbouterto push; to remove flesh from the skin of an...
7Middle Frenchbouterto pull
8Old Frenchbouterto strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter
9Frankishbautanto push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,...
10Proto-West Germanicbautanto beat
11Proto-Germanicbautanąto beat, push
12Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewd-to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,...
13Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰew-to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...

via English ground

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgroundThe surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky...
2Middle Englishgroundground; Earth
3Old Englishgrundground; bottom, foundation; abyss, depths
4Proto-Germanicgrunduzground, foundation
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰrem-to be angry; to sound, bellow, growl, roar, be...
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʰer-to rub; to stroke; to grind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰew-
bootleg ground — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer