Where does “bootlickery” come from?
bootlickery (English) comes from English bootlick, 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...
Ancestry of “bootlickery”, step by step
bootlickery traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bootlick
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bootlick | To seek favor from by fawning, servile behavior;... |
| 2 | English | boot | A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg; A blow... |
| 3 | French | botte | boot; something resembling a boot; oppression |
| 4 | Italian | botta | blow, hit, shock, knock, attack |
| 5 | Italian | bottare | — |
| 6 | French | bouter | to push; to remove flesh from the skin of an... |
| 7 | Middle French | bouter | to pull |
| 8 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 9 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
via English ery
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ery | — |