bootstrap

English
The bootstrap can be seen at the top of the boot that is standing upright.

Etymology

From boot +‎ strap. The sense "pull up (without aid)" comes from the phrase pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/

Noun

bootstrap (plural bootstraps)

  1. A loop (leather or other material) sewn at the side or top rear of a boot to help in pulling the boot on.
  2. (figuratively) A means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something without aid.
    He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.
  3. (computing) The process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory.
  4. (computing) The process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program.
  5. (statistics) Any method or instance of estimating properties of an estimator (such as its variance) by measuring those properties when sampling from an approximating distribution.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

bootstrap (third-person singular simple present bootstraps, present participle bootstrapping, simple past and past participle bootstrapped)

  1. To help (oneself) without the aid of others.
    Sam spent years bootstrapping himself through college.
  2. (computing) To load the operating system into the memory of a computer. Usually shortened to boot.
  3. (computing) To compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program.
    Bootstrapping means building the GNU C Library, GNU Compiler Collection and several other key system programs.
  4. (statistics) To employ a bootstrap method.
  5. To expand or advance an activity or a collection based solely on previous actions, work, findings, etc.
    • 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide‎, page 5:
      Gradually, more and more terms were discovered, especially as there was a tendency in the literature to list a number of related terms together, thus allowing me to bootstrap new terms found accompanying those originally searched for.

Translations
to load the operating system — see boot
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