booty1
/ˈbuːti
/- Between 1799 and 1814, when the collection was augmented by artistic booty seized in the wake of Napoleon's military victories, the Louvre was the greatest museum of Western art in history.
- Others were seized as war booty and fell into the hands of collectors who valued them but were often at a loss to understand what they were or who had created them.
- Founders Ernst Malmsten and Kajsa Leander begin spending their venture capital booty.
- The booty includes free massages, four tickets to see the Pixies, and a glossy 8 x 10 photo of Amy Grant.
- Started by four hard-core believers in nature's booty and its goodness, Green Life aims to reintroduce nature to people around.
Origin
Late Middle English (originally denoting plunder acquired in common): from Middle Low German būte, buite 'exchange, distribution', of uncertain origin.
The original core meaning of booty was ‘to distribute’. Victors in war divided the booty stolen from an enemy among themselves. The modern American word meaning ‘a person's bottom or buttocks’ is unconnected. It is probably an alteration of botty (late 19th century) in the same sense, itself an alteration of bottom, an Old English word used for the buttocks since the late 18th century. If someone urges you to shake your booty, they want you to dance energetically. A sexy woman has been bootylicious since 1994, although the word was popularized by the single of the same name by Destiny's Child in 2001.
Rhymes
booty2
/ˈbuːti/- It seems the bottom - or rather, the booty - has dropped out of the hip-hop market.
- It's true that Scott Hall had all the skills to become world champion, but he probably lacked the self-control to actually carry the belt and put booties in the seats for any length of time.
- I have to say that I strongly disagreed with fixing the one young woman who had a big booty.
Phrases
shake one's booty
Origin
1920s: probably an alteration of body or botty.