bottom

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The lowest part of something.

   They waited at the bottom of the hill.

2. 2
   adj

   Lowest in position or rank.

   His name was on the bottom line of the list.

3. 3
   noun

   The most basic or essential part of a matter.

   The detective was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Bottom is an Old English word used for the buttocks since the late 18th century. Botty is an alteration of bottom, and the American booty meaning ‘buttocks’ is probably an alteration of botty. This sense of booty is unrelated to booty meaning spoils taken in war.

PIE word *bʰudʰmḗn From Middle English botme, botom, from Old English botm, bodan (“bottom, foundation; ground, abyss”), from Proto-West Germanic *butm, from Proto-Germanic *butmaz, *budmaz (“bottom; ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom”). Cognates Cognate with Yola bothom, bottom (“bottom”), Saterland Frisian Boudem (“floor; ground”), West Frisian boaiem (“floor; ground”), Dutch bodem, boom, boôm (“bottom; ground, soil”), German Boden (“floor; ground; soil”), Limburgish baom (“bottom; ground, soil”), Luxembourgish Buedem (“bottom; earth, soil”), Vilamovian bödum (“bottom; gr…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary