# bootleg

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈbutˌlɛɡ/ · frequency rank #26,349

## Definitions
1. To engage in bootlegging.
2. To engage in bootlegging.
3. To engage in bootlegging.
4. To engage in bootlegging.

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

## Easily confused with
- **bottle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bootleg-vs-bottle)
- **bottles** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bootleg-vs-bottles)
- **bottled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bootleg-vs-bottled)
- **booted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/booted-vs-bootleg)
- **booklet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/booklet-vs-bootleg)
- **booting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/booting-vs-bootleg)

## Common misspellings (10)
`bbootleg`, `boolteg`, `bootelg`, `bootlegg`, `bootlge`, `bootlleg`, `boottleg`, `botleg`, `botoleg`, `obotleg`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bootleg