Forms: 5–6 botye, buty, 6 boty, bootye, bootie, (7 Sc. bouty), 6– booty. [The mod. as well as the early forms, point to a ME. long ō, and thus to connection with bōt, BOOT sb.1 advantage, and v.1 to profit. But there is no accounting for such a formation from bōt, boot directly; and it is generally held that the English word is due to an adaptation of some word cognate with Ger. beute, F. butin (or the latter itself) influenced in form by association with bōt, boot. The Teutonic words in question are ON. býti ‘exchange, barter,’ connected with býta ‘to exchange’; also ‘to deal out, distribute’; MDu. and MLG. büte (MG. bûte, MHG. biute, mod.G. beute, mod.Du. buit), all with the sense ‘booty.’ Butin, from French, was used side by side with boty, booty during the 16th c., and it is curious that the first known instances of both occur in Caxton’s Chesse, within a few lines of each other: see BUTIN. Caxton has also buty (see 1491), and in 17th c. we find an instance of bootyn for butin: but on the whole the contact of the two forms appears to be slight. The shorter form BOOT (sb.2), and the related BOOT v.2 BOOTER (freebooter), BOOTING, are all later.
(An early but dubiously genuine use appears under BOOTY a., which, if really used by Lydgate c. 1430, would carry the question farther back, but leave it still more obscure.)]
1. orig. Plunder, gain or profit acquired in common and destined to be divided among the winners.
a. That which is taken from an enemy in war; the collective plunder or spoil. (No plural.)
1474. Caxton, Chesse, 39. So shold the dispoyle and botye be comune vnto them. Ibid. (1491), Four Sons Aymon (1885), 143. The kyng made the buty to be dealed, Wherof the most party he made to be gyven to reynawde & his brethern.
1530. Palsgr., 200/1. Boty that men of warre take, butin.
1579. Digges, Stratiot., 129. The Bootie shall be divided, according to the auncient lawes of the warres.
1611. Bible, Numb. xxxi. 32. And the bootie being the rest of the pray which the men of war had caught.
1732. Lediard, Sethos, II. IX. 287. They were too happy to give them a share of the booty.
1814. Wellington, in Gurw., Disp., XII. 7. What ought to be considered as booty to the army.
b. That which is captured by robbers or thieves.
1567. Harman, Caveat (1869), 33. When they haue a greatter booty then they maye cary awaye quickly.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., I. ii. 184. When they haue the booty, if you and I do not rob them.
† 2. A thing taken by force; a prize. (With pl.)
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph., 186 b. His souldyers had conspired … to conuerte all the booties that they shoulde geat, to their owne priuate vse.
1568. Like will to Like, in Hazl., Dodsl., III. 334. Art thou not agreed These two booties equally to divide?
1591. Horsey, Trav. (1857), 161. To lose a great deall of his artillerie, buties, and baggage.
1652. Needham, trans. Selden’s Mare Cl., 481. To … take prizes or booties.
1823. Byron, Juan, X. lxix. Packets, all whose passengers are booties To those who upon land or water dwell.
3. loosely. Plunder, spoil, gain; a prize; without reference to its being common property.
1580. Baret, Alv., B 932. The Bootie or spoyle that a man hath gotten of his enemies.
1599. R. Greenham, Wks. (1612), 29. When a flatterer comming to haue some bootie is denied, [etc.].
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 862. Fortune … drops Booties in my mouth.
1662. More, Antid. Ath., II. x. (1712), 71. That she might not be too easie a Booty for him.
1722. De Foe, Moll Fl. (1840), 328. He robbed the best Chester coaches and got a very great booty.
1743. Fielding, Jon. Wild, II. ii. Bagshot … had carried off a pretty considerable booty from their engagements at dice.
1839. Thirlwall, Greece, I. 329. The ingenious and successful pilferer gained applause with his booty.
1866. Kingsley, Herew., v. 115. He got very little booty there.
4. To play booty: To join with confederates in order to ‘spoil’ or victimize another player; to play into the hands of confederates in order to share the ‘plunder’ with them; hence to play or act falsely so as to gain a desired object; esp. to play badly intentionally in order to lose the game. So (obs.) to bowl, cast, perjure, talk, write booty.
1561. Awdelay, Frat. Vacab., 9. And consent as though they will play booty against him.
1592. Greene, Art Conny catch., II. 8. The bowlers cast euer booty, and doth win or loose as the bet of the gripe leadeth them.
1622. Mabbe, trans. Aleman’s Guzman d’Alf., I. 222. Wee are three of vs, let vs all play booty, and joyne together to coozen the Cardinall.
1650. Weldon, Crt. Jas. I., 99. Some of them played booty, and in truth, the Game was not plaid above-board.
1676. Etheredge, Man of Mode, III. i. (1684), 30. What think you of playing it on booty? Har. What do you mean? T. Bell. Pretend to be in love with one another.
1678. Butler, Hud., Lady’s Answ., 180. Can own the same thing, and disown; And perjure Booty, Pro and Con.
1711. Addison, Spect., No. 60, ¶ 9. Would not one be apt to believe that the Author played booty, and did not make his List of Rhymes till he had finished his Poem?
1771. P. Parsons, Newmarket, I. 108. Bribing the rider to play booty, to lose the race.
1813. Examiner, 17 May, 319/1. I gave a jockey a handsome premium to play booty.
1831. Disraeli, Yng. Duke, III. IV. vi. 50 (L.). One thing alone remained to be lost—what he called his honour, which was already on the scent to play booty.
b. Hence: Booty = playing booty.
1608. Dekker, Belman Lond., Wks. 1884–5, III. 135–6. Many other practises there are in bowling tending to cozenage, but ye greatest and grossest is Booty: in which ye deceipt is so open and palpable that I haue seene men stone-blind offer to lay Betts franckely … only by hearing who played, and how the old Grypes had made their layes.
1738. Warburton, Div. Legat., II. 145. A Riddle was frequently the Stratagem for a Booty.
5. Comb. † booty-fellow: one who shares booty with others; a confederate in plundering, swindling, etc. (cf. sense 4).
1530. Palsgr., 200/1. Botyfelowe, parsonnier.
1532. Dice-Play (1850), 43. As when one man lost … an hundred pound land at shooting, by occasion that some that shot with him on his side were booty fellows against him.
