• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Term “Bootlegger” Mean and Where Did the Word Come From?

What Does the Term “Bootlegger” Mean and Where Did the Word Come From?

June 11, 2020 by Karen Hill

During the prohibition period of the 1920s, those who sold illegal booze became very wealthy.

But the term bootlegger came out of the nineteenth century, when it was the fashion for horsemen to wear very high boots.

These boots were commonly used to conceal pints of illegal bottled moonshine by both the purveyor and the customer and gave us the term bootleg, which now means anything sold outside the law.

That’s why we call someone who sells illegal alcohol a “bootlegger”.

Related Facts

  • Where Did the Term "Noon Hour" Come From and What Did the Term For Midday Mean Originally?
  • What Does the Term "A1 Condition" Mean and Where Did the Term Come From?
  • What Does the Term "Alma Mater" Mean and Where Did the Term Come From?
  • What Does the Term "Straw Boss" Mean and Where Did the Term For Work Supervisor Come From?
  • Where Did the Term "Scuttlebutt" Come From, What Does it Mean, and How Did the Word Originate?
  • How Did Jaywalkers Get Their Name, What Does the Word Mean, and Where Did the Term Come From?
  • Where Did the Word "Posh" Come From, What the Term Mean, and How Did it Originate?
  • Where Did the Word "Backlog" Come From For an Accumulation and What Did the Term Mean Originally?
  • Where Did the Term Jazz Come From and What Did the Word For the Music Genre Mean Originally?
  • Where Did the Term "Geek" Come From and What Did the Word Mean Originally?
  • Where Did the Word "Court" Come From and What Did the Term Mean in Latin?
  • Where Did the Word "Fired" When Losing Your Job Come From and What Did the Term Mean Originally?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where Did the Term “Bluenosers” For Natives of Nova Scotia Come From and What Does the Word Mean?
Next Post: Where Did the Term “Nun” For a Religious Woman Come From and What Does the Word Mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy