English

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Etymology

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From boot +‎ lick.

Verb

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bootlick (third-person singular simple present bootlicks, present participle bootlicking, simple past and past participle bootlicked)

  1. (transitive) To seek favor from by fawning, servile behavior.
    • 2003, Todd DePastino, Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America, page 81:
      He had no social position to protect, no employer to bootlick.
  2. (intransitive) To engage in fawning, servile behavior.

Translations

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Noun

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bootlick (plural bootlicks)

  1. (US) A toady or sycophant.
    • 1838, Oasis: An Anthology to Divert an Idle Hour:
      the involving of certain "bootlicks" into difficulty