booming 
booming 2 (bo'ming), p. a. [Ppr. of boom 3 , t-.] 
Active; lively; advancing; buoyant: as, a 
booming market. 
[U.S.] 
boom-iron (bom'- 
i''eni), //. \nitt., 
a, metal ring on 
a yard, through 
which a studding- 
sail-boom is run 
in and out. 
boom-jigger 
(bom jig'er), n. \nitt., the small purchase 
used in rigging out a ituddiogwil-boom, and, 
by glutting the tacklo, in rigging it in. Also 
called iii-innl-iiHt ji'jijfi-. 
boomkin (bOm'kin), . Same as buml.iit. 
bopm-mainsail (bdm'man'sal), . A fore-and- 
ai'i mainsail, tlie foot of which is extended by 
a boom. 
bqomslang (bSm'slang), . [D. (in S. Af- 
rica), < IHMIIH, tree, + slang (=OHG. /</". 
MHG. slange, G. schlange), a snake, < "//</<, 
only in t'req. .il/i l; /<n 11, turn, toss, sling, = OH(i. 
xliHi/tin, -\l I !< i. /iliiii/ru t G. schlingcn, wind, twist, 
sling, = E. sling, q. v.] An African tree-snake, 
Hurc/ilinlua citiH'Hitix. 
boomster (bom'ster), . [< boom* + -ster.] 
One engaged in booming the market or a polit- 
ical candidate for office: one who works up a 
boom. [Bare, U. S.] 
Moreover, In- Ithu Secretary of the Interior) dismissed 
him "when under lire" that is, while the Board's en- 
quiry was still in progress an act whieh every liooiiuttrr 
must regard with UMmnfl. The Xatiou, Feb. 12, 1880. 
boom-tackle (bSin'tak'l), n. A tackle consist- 
ing of a double and a single block and fall, 
used in guying out the maiu-boom of a fore- 
and-aft rigged vessel. 
boon 1 (b<in), H. [< ME. boon, bone, also boyn, 
boyne, < Icel. ban, a prayer, petition, with a 
parallel umlauted form been for *bten = Sw. 
Dan. ban = AS. ben, ME. lien, bene, a prayer: 
see ben 3 . In the sense of 'favor, privilege,' 
there is confusion with froon 3 .] If. A prayer; 
a petition. 
Our king unto God made his boon. Minot. 
The wofull husbandman doth lowd complaine 
To see his whole yeares labor lost so soone, 
For which to Cod he made so many an idle boone. 
Spenmr, V. Q., III. vii. 34. 
2. That which is asked; a favor; a thing de- 
sired; a benefaction. 
Vouchsafe me, for my meed, but one fair look ; 
A smaller boon than this I cannot beg. 
Shale.,'?. Q. of V., v. 4. 
All our tra.de with the West Indies was a boon, granted 
to us by the indulgence of England. 
D. Webster, Speech, Jan. 24, 1832. 
Hence 3. A good ; a benefit enjoyed ; a bless- 
ing; a great privilege; a thing to be thankful 
for. 
The boon of religious freedom. 
Sydney Smith, Peter Plymley's Letters, li. 
Is this the duty of rulers? Are men in such stations to 
give all that may be asked . . . without regarding wheth- 
er it he a boon or a lp;uic ''. Brougham, Lord North. 
4. An unpaid service due by a tenant to his 
lord. [Now only prov. Eng.] 
boon 1 (bn), r. t. [< boon 1 , n., 4.] To do gra- 
tuitous service to another, as a tenant to a land- 
lord, lint/ : Gro.ti: [Prov. Eng.] 
boon 2 (b8n), n. [Also E. dial, bun (see buttf), < 
ME. bone, later also bunne ; cf. Gael, and Ir. fr- 
ntich, coarse tow, the refuse of flax, < Gael, and 
Ir. bun, stump, stock, root: see 6i 3 .] The 
refuse stalk of hemp or flax after the fiber has 
been removed by retting and breaking. 
boon 3 (bon), a. [< ME. boon, bone, < Norm. P. 
boon, OF. bun, F. bon, < L. bonus, good: see 
hniiiis, li/nnii, binniii 1 , etc.] If. Good : as, boon 
cheer. 2f. Favorable; fortunate; prosperous: 
as, a boon voyage. 3t. Kind ; bounteous ; yield- 
ing abundance: as, "nature boon," Milton, P. 
L., iv. 1M2. 
To a boon southern country' he is fled. 
M. AriuiM, Thyrsis. 
4. Gay; merry; jolly; jovial; convivial: as, a 
boon companion; "jocund and boon." Miltmi. 
P. L., ix.793. 
Fled all the boon rumpunions of the Earl. 
'/' <iii'i*<:n. (Jeraint. 
boonaget, . [Also bonage; < boon 1 , 4, + -</<.] 
Boon-work. 
boon-dayt 0>iin'da), n. A day on which Iron- 
work was performed by a tenant for his lord, 
as in harvesting his crops. 
627 
boongary ( biing'gu-ri), n. The native name of a 
tree-kangaroo, l>fn<lr<>t<t<iu.i lumholtei, of north- 
ern Queensland, Australia. 
boonk (bougk), ii. [Imitative, like bump 1 and 
bumlili; a., ij. v.] The little bittern of Europe, 
.[nli'tlii miniilii. Mniiliii/ii. 
boon-loaft (bOn'lof), n. A loaf allowed to a 
tenant when working on a boon-day. 
boon-work Ma'wtak), . 1. Unpaid work or 
service formerly rendered by a tenant to his 
lord ; boon. 2. Work or service given gratu- 
itously to a farmer by his neighbors on some 
special -asitm. 
boopic (bo-op'ik), a. [< Gr. ftotim*;, ox-eyed: 
see bui'i/iN.] Having eyes like those of an ox. 
boops (bo'ops), n. [NL., < Gr. poimtf, ox-eyed, 
< Jolr, ox (see Bos), + by, eye.] An old book- 
name of the A'".- boops, a sparoid fish of the 
Mediterranean and the adjoining ocean. It is 
peculiar in the development of only one row of 
notched trenchant teeth in the jaws. 
boor (biir). H. [Early mod. E. also boore, hour 
(also improp. bore, boar), possibly, in the form 
hour (mod. E. prop, 'bower, bou'er) (cf. E. dial. 
bar, neighbor, as a form of address), < ME. 
"bour, < AS. gebur, a dweller, husbandman, 
fanner, countryman (a word surviving without 
distinctive meaning in the compound neighbour, 
n<i</ltbor, < AS. nedh-gebur) ; out in the ordi- 
nary form and pronunciation, boor, < LG. bur, 
bunr, MLG. bur, gebur, a husbandman, farmer, 
= D. buur, MD. ghebure, ghebuer, neighbor, D. 
bocr, MD. geboer (a later form, prob. borrowed 
from LG.), a husbandman, farmer, rustic, knave 
at cards, = OHG. gibur, ijiburo, MHG. gebur, ge- 
bure, G. bauer, a husbandman, peasant, rustic, 
= AS. gebur, as above ; lit. one who occupies 
the same dwelling (house, village, farm) with 
another, one who dwells with or near another 
(a sense more definitely expressed by the AS. 
nedh-gebur, 'nigh-dweller,' neighbor: see neigh- 
bor), < ge-, together, a generalizing or coordi- 
nating prefix (see ge-), + bur, > E. boicer, a 
dwelling: see boicer 1 . The forms, as those of 
others from the same root (AS. ouan, dwell, 
etc.), are somewhat confused in the several 
languages. See boirer 1 , boteer 1 *, bower , etc., 
and neighbor.'] 1. A countryman; a peasant; 
a rustic; a clown; particularly, a Dutch or 
German peasant. 
Knave meant once no more than lad ; ... villain than 
peasant ; a boor was only a farmer ; a varlet was but a 
serving-man ; . . . a churl but a strong fellow. 
Abp. Trench, Study of Words, p. 66. 
There were others, the boon, who seem to have had no 
land of their own, but worked on the lord's private land 
like the laborers of to-day. 
J. R. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. Sl. 
Hence 2. One who is rude in manners, or il- 
literate ; a clown ; a clownish person. 
The profoundcst philosopher differs in degree only, not 
in kind, from the most uncultivated boor. 
Churning, Perfect Life, p. 172. 
The habits and cunning of a boor. Thackeray. 
Tramped down by that Northern boor. Peter the Great. 
D. G. Mitchell, Wet Days. 
3. [cap.] Same as Boer. 
boordAt, n. and r. An obsolete form of board. 
boord 2 t, . A variant form of bourtl 1 . 
boorish (boVish), a. [< boor + -ish 1 ; = D. 
boersch = G. biiutrisch, clownish, rustic.] 1. 
Resembling a boor ; clownish ; rustic ; awk- 
ward in manners; illiterate. 
No lusty neatherd thither drove his klne, 
No boorish hogherd fed his rooting swine. 
W. Browne, Brit. Past, ii. 1. 
2. Pertaining to or fit for a boor. 
A gross and boorish opinion. Milton, On Divorce, i. 9. 
= 8yn. Boorith, Churlish, Clownish, Loutish. He who is 
boorish is so low-bred in habit* and ways as to be posi- 
tively offensive. He who is churlish offends by his lan- 
guage and manners, they being such as would naturally be 
found in one who is coarse and selfish, and therefore gener- 
ally insolent or crusty and rough ; the opposite of kind and 
courteous: as, it i9 churlish to refuse to answer a civil ques- 
tion. The opposite of tnnn-inh is rtjined or jtoliff ; the op- 
posite of cltrni*h is '['nint. Clownish is a somewhat 
weaker word than boorish, implying less that is disgusting 
in manner and speech ; it often notes mere lack of refine- 
ment. The difference between clownish and loutish is 
that he who is cloimish is generally stupid and some- 
times ludicrous, while he who is loutish U perhaps slov- 
enly and worthy of blame. 
In some countries the large cities absorb the wealth and 
fashion of tin- nation. . . . and the country Is inhabited 
almost entirely by boorish peasantry. 
Ininfl, Sketch-Book, p. 80. 
My master Is of churlish disposition, 
And little recks to tlnd the way to heaven 
By doing deeds of hospitality. 
flhuk.. As you Like it, ii. 4. 
Tis flmrni.ih to in>M nn il-inu' all with otie'sowil hands, 
as if every man should build his own clumsy house, forge 
his hummer, and bake his dough. Kmermn, Success. 
boot 
ll<- (Lord riirsb-rni-ldj lalxmil for yean to mould his 
dull, heavy. Inulisli son. stanlio|>, , int., a graceful man of 
fashion. H'. Mathrm, (Jetting on in the World, ]>. K. 
boorishly (b6Vish-li), adv. In a boorish man- 
ner. 
Limbs . . . neither weak nor boorishly robust. 
I', ,,in,,, tr. of Martial* Epigrams, x. 47. 
boorishness (bor'ish-nes), . [< boorish + 
-in UK. ) The Mate of being boorish; clownish- 
ness ; rusticity ; coarseness of manners. 
boornouse (bOr-nds'), " Same as bur noose. 
boost, . An obsolete form of boss 1 . Chaucer. 
boose 1 (boz), ii. [= Sc. boose, buine, bum; < ME. 
boose, base, < AS. *bos (represented only by tin- 
ONorth. botrig, > boosy 1 , q. v.) = Icel. bass = 
Sw. bos = Dan. IHIH*, a cow-stall ; cf. G. banse, 
= Goth, banut*, a bam.] A stall or inclosure 
for cattle. Also boosy, bouse. [Prov. Eng.] 
boose'-', ''. and . See booze. 
booser, n. See boozer. 
boost 1 (host), v. t. [Etym. unknown.] To lift 
or raise by pushing from behind, as a person 
climbing a tree; push up: often used figura- 
tively : as, to boost a person over a fence, or in- 
to power. [North. U. 8.] 
boost 1 (btfst), ii. An upward shove or push; 
the act of boosting; the result of boosting: a 
lift, either literally or figuratively : as, to give 
one a boost. [North. U. S.] 
boost 2 *, n. A Middle English form of boast 1 . 
boost 3 t, ". [Early mod. E., < ME. host; a variant 
of boist 1 , q. v.] Same as boist 1 . 
boost 4 (bdst), n. and r. Same as buist. 
boosy 1 (bo'zi), n. [Early mod. E. also boosey, 
bousie, < ME. (not found), < AS. (ONorth.) 60- 
.-'</. infill. < "bos, a stall : see boose 1 .] Same as 
boose 1 . 
boosy-. a. See boozy. 
boot' (bot), n. [< ME. boote, bote, bot, < AS. bot, 
advantage, amendment, reparation (esp. in the 
phrase to bote (lit. 'for reparation,' E. to boot), 
frequent in the AS. laws), = OS. bota = OFries. 
bote = D. boete = LG. bote = OHG. buoza, MHG. 
buoze, G. busse = Icel. bot = Sw. bot = Dan. 
bod = Goth, bota, boot, advantage, profit, re- 
pair, reparation, etc. ; < Teut."&aten(pret. bot), 
be good, be useful, profit, avail, whence ult. E. 
bet 1 , better 1 , batten 1 , oattle 3 , etc., and (as a deriv. 
of boot), beet?, mend, repair: see these words.] 
If. Profit; gain; advantage. 
If then the reward bee to bee measured by thy merites, 
what boote canst thou seeke for, but eternall paine. 
l.niu, Euphues, Anal, of Wit, p. 181. 
O ! spare thy happy dates, and them apply 
To better boot. Spenser, K. Q., III. xi. 19. 
2. Something which is thrown in by one of the 
parties to a bargain as an additional considera- 
tion, or to make the exchange equal. 
I'll give you boot. 111 give you three for one. 
Shot., T. and C., ir. 5. 
3f. Help or deliverance; assistance; relief; 
remedy : as, boot for every bale. 
She Is ... the rote of bountee . . . and soules bole. 
Chaucer, Prioress's Tale, 1. 14. 
Anon he yaf the syke man his bote. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., L 424. 
Next her son, our soul's best boot. Wordsworth. 
4f. Besource; alternative. 
There was none other boote for him, hut to arm him. 
Lord Berners, tr. of Froissart, I. 874. 
It IB no boot, it is useless or of no avail. 
Whereupon we thought It no boot to sit longer, since we 
could escape unobserved. 
R. KIWI, Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 418. 
To boot [AS. IS bite], to the advantage ; Into the bargain ; 
in addition ; over and above ; besides : as, I will give my 
house for yours with 9500 to boot. 
Helen to change would give an eye to boot. 
Shot., T. and C., L i 
We are a people of prayer and good works to boot. 
Ifaathonit, Old Manse, I. 
To make boot of, to make proflt of; gain by. 
Give him no breath, but now 
Make boot of his distraction. 
Shot., A. and C., IT. 1. 
boot 1 (bot), r. t. [< ME. boten, profit, < bote, 
boot, profit. The earlier verb was AS. liitmi. 
> ME. beteii, mod. E. beet: see beet*.] 1. To 
profit ; advantage ; avail : now only used im- 
personally : as, it boots us little. 
What bootes It al to have, and nothing use? 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vi. 17. 
For what I have, I need not to repeat ; 
And what I want, it boots not to complain. 
Shak., Rich. II., ill. 4. 
2f. To present into the bargain ; enrich ; ben- 
efit. 
I will '...( thee with what gift beside 
Thy modesty can beg. Mak., A. and C., U. 6, 
