̈ɪbu:t verb (Science
and Technology)
transitive: To
start up (a computer) by
loading its operating
system into the working memory; to
cause (the system or a program) to be
loaded in
this way.
intransitive: (Of a computer) to be started up by the loading of the operating system; (of a program) to be loaded.
Etymology: An abbreviated
form of
bootstrap 'to
initiate a fixed
sequence of instructions
which initiates the loading of
further instructions and, ultimately, of the
whole system'; this in
turn is named
after the process of pulling
oneself up by one's bootstraps, a
phrase which is
widely supposed to be based on
one of the eighteenth-century Adventures of
Baron Munchausen.
Despite the
traditional practice of getting
sluggish machines to
work by giving
them a
surreptitious kick,
there is no
connection whatever between this verb and boot
meaning 'to kick'.
History and
Usage: Bootstraps
have been used in computing
since the fifties, but it
was not until personal computers
became widespread in the seventies and eighties
that the
noun bootstrap and the corresponding verb
were abbreviated to boot. The verb is
often used
with up; the
action noun
for this process is booting (up). If a
computer does not have a
hard drive and must be booted
from a
floppy, one
should boot from a 'write-protected'
disc that
cannot be altered.
New Scientist 4
Mar. 1989, p. 42 At last the Amiga can
boast a game you'll be
proud to boot up
when your crystal analyst comes
round to
listen to your collect of Brian Eno LPs. CU Amiga
Apr. 1990, p. 57
