Where does “bootstrap” come from?
I cannot write this etymology with confidence because the chain provided contains only repetitive cycling through "bootleg" and "leg" without establishing a clear etymological path or any oldest known form. A reliable etymology requires tracing back to an actual origin language with documented evidence, which this chain does not provide.
bootstrap (English): A loop sewn at the side or top rear of a boot to...
Definitions
- A loop sewn at the side or top rear of a boot to...
Ancestry of “bootstrap”, step by step
bootstrap 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 strap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | strap | A long, narrow, pliable strip of leather, cloth,... |
| 2 | English | strope | loop on a harness |
| 3 | Middle English | strope | — |
| 4 | Old French | estrope | strap, loop on a harness |
| 5 | Latin | stroppus | strap, band, thong; garter; wreath |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | στρόφος | thong; rope; twisted band, cord |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ἄνθος | flower, blossom, bloom; froth, scum; bloom, peak |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | ántʰos | flower, blossom |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éndʰos | bloom |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |