boot

I. 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 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 booted out of office

> 3. to make an error on (a grounder in baseball); broadly botch 4. to ride (a horse) in a race <

booted 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 boots automatically

> 2. to become ready for use especially by booting a program <

the computer boots quickly

> — often used with up • bootable adjective V. noun Etymology: 1boot Date: 1593 archaic booty, plunder