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. An illegal trader of goods, especially of alcohol.
2. One who breaks intellectual property laws by reproducing protected works without permission; a pirate.

Derived terms

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

 

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.