I. ˈbüt noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bōt remedy — more at better
Date: before 12th century
1. archaic : deliverance
2. chiefly dialect : something to equalize a trade
3. obsolete : avail
•
- to boot
II. verb
Date: 15th century
archaic : avail , profit
III. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French bote
Date: 14th century
1. : a fitted covering (as of leather or rubber) for the foot and usually reaching above the ankle
2. : an instrument of torture used to crush the leg and foot
3. : something that resembles or is likened to a boot ; especially : an enclosing or protective casing or sheath (as for a rifle or over an electrical or mechanical connection)
4. : a navy or marine corps recruit undergoing basic training
5. British : an automobile trunk
6.
a. : a kick with the foot
b. : summary dismissal — used with the
gave him the boot
c. : momentary pleasure or enjoyment : bang
got a big boot out of the joke
7. : a sheath enclosing the inflorescence
8. : Denver boot
IV. verb
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1. : to put boots on
2.
a. : kick
b. : to eject or discharge summarily — often used with out
was boot ed out of office
3. : to make an error on (a grounder in baseball) ; broadly : botch
4. : to ride (a horse) in a race
boot ed home three winners
5.
[ bootstrap (II)]
a. : to load (a program) into a computer from a disk
b. : to start or ready for use especially by booting a program
boot a computer
— often used with up
intransitive verb
1. : to become loaded into a computer's memory from a disk
the program boot s automatically
2. : to become ready for use especially by booting a program
the computer boot s quickly
— often used with up
• boot·able ˈbü-tə-bəl adjective
V. noun
Etymology: boot (I)
Date: 1593
archaic : booty , plunder