bootlegger

English

Etymology

From bootleg +‎ -er. Originally a nickname given to smugglers in King George III's reign, derived from the smugglers' custom of hiding packages of valuables in the legs of their large sea-boots when dodging the king's coastguardsmen.

Noun

bootlegger (plural bootleggers)

1. Someone who bootlegs.
   2. One who is illegally a producer and/or trader of goods, especially of alcohol.
   4. One who breaks intellectual property laws by reproducing protected works without permission.

      Synonym: pirate

   6. A miner who mines illegally.

Derived terms

• booklegger
• bootlegger reverse
• bootleggery
• buttlegger
• foodlegger
• organlegger

 

Related terms

• bootlegging

 

Translations

illegal trader

• Finnish: salakauppias, trokari (fi), viinatrokari (fi) (of alcohol)
• French: bootlegger (fr), trafiquant (fr) m
• German: Schwarzhändler (de) m
• Italian: contrabbandiere (it), trafficante (it) m
• Japanese: 密売者 (みつばいしゃ, mitsubaisha)
• Russian: бутле́гер (ru) m (butléger) (US), незако́нный торго́вец спиртны́ми напи́тками m (nezakónnyj torgóvec spirtnými napítkami)
• Spanish: traficante (es) m or f, contrabandista m or f
• Swedish: langare (sv) c

one who breaks intellectual property law — see pirate

See also

• moonshiner
• revenuer

 

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English bootlegger.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bu.tlɛ.ɡœʁ/ ~ /bu.tle.ɡœʁ/

• Audio (Toulouse):

  (file)

Noun

bootlegger m (plural bootleggers, feminine bootleggeuse)

1. bootlegger

Further reading

• “bootlegger”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.