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botte

Etymology and origin of the French word botte

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botte1 bundle

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1316
Borrowed from
Middle Dutch bote
Ultimate origin
Middle Dutch (bote)

Pronunciation

Forms

botte f (plural bottes)[1]

Etymology

The bundle is borrowed from Middle Dutch bote (“bundle of flax”),[2][3][4][5][1][6] related to boten (“to beat”), so properly the amount of crop threshed at one time.[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg think a link with the family of bot less likely.[2] Compare Middle Low German bōte (“bundle of flax”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded in 1316 for a bundle of plants of one kind tied together.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed concrete: botte de foin, de paille, botte de radis, d'asperges, a bunch of flowers, and skeins of silk tied together.[4][5] Chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin is to look for a needle in a haystack.[4] In the cavalry, la botte was the trumpet call for the distribution of fodder.[5] The verb botteler “to tie in bundles” is from 1328.[2]

Timeline

  • 1316 – A bundle of hay or straw.[5][2]
  • 1328 – Botteler.[2]
  • 1351 – Bottelage.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bundle or bunch: botte de paille, botte de radis.[4][1]
  2. A bale of hay.[1]

Word family

  • botteler

botte2 boot

Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
late 12th century, Aiol (bote)

Pronunciation

Forms

botte f (plural bottes)[1]

Etymology

The boot is of unknown origin.[7][3][4] The usual explanation, accepted by Bloch and Wartburg, forms it on the stem of bot “blunt, club-shaped”, since it first named a coarse, thick shoe covering part of the leg, apparently worn by monks;[2][7][3] Poitevin bot (“clog”) is compared.[3] Guiraud saw in it both senses of a stem “bott-”, swollen and truncated.[7][3] Wiktionary instead derives it from Frankish *butt.[1] Old Occitan bota is the same word.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The chanson de geste Aiol (late 12th century) has bote for a thick, coarse shoe.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The tall boot replaced Old French huese (compare houseau), a Germanic word, the Romans having had no such footwear.[7][2] Its shape changed with fashion and use: riding, hunting and military boots, rubber boots.[7][4] Phrases include y laisser ses bottes “to be killed” (1584), now obsolete, and figuratively la botte stands for oppression.[7][1] Italy, from its shape, is la Botte.[1] Derivatives are botter, bottier (15th century) and bottine (1367).[2]

Timeline

  • late 12th century – Bote, a coarse shoe.[5][3]
  • 1367 – Bottine.[2]
  • 16th century – The spelling botte.[7]
  • 1584 – Y laisser ses bottes.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A boot: bottes de cheval, bottes en caoutchouc.[4][1]
  2. (figurative) Oppression: sous la botte de.[1]

Word family

  • botter
  • bottier
  • bottine
  • débotter

botte3 thrust

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1590
Borrowed from
Italian botta
Ultimate origin
Italian (bottare)

Pronunciation

Forms

botte f (plural bottes)[1]

Etymology

The fencing thrust is borrowed from Italian botta (“blow”),[2][3][4][1] from Old Italian bottare (“to strike”), itself borrowed from French bouter “to push”.[3][2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from 1590 (Brantôme uses it in the 16th century) for a thrust in fencing.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Porter, pousser or allonger une botte is to make a thrust, and a botte secrète an unstoppable one.[4][5] Figuratively it was an unexpected attack or an awkward question, and proposer la botte meant to proposition a woman.[4][1]

Timeline

  • 1590 – A fencing thrust.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (fencing) A thrust: botte secrète.[4][1]
  2. (dated, familiar) Proposer la botte: to proposition someone.[4][1]
  • botterie
  • bot
  • bouter
  • English boot

Usage notes

A fourth botte, a large cask and an old measure of capacity, comes from Italian botte or Old Occitan bota, from Late Latin buttis.[3][8][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 229b
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Botte.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/botte. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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