A loop of fabric or leather sewn on the back of a boot to help pull it on. The word now also means to help yourself or start something with minimal resources.
From 'boot' + 'strap' (from Old Norse 'stropp'). Originally a literal loop on boots, the figurative meaning emerged in the 1800s from the phrase 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' (something physically impossible, so metaphorically ambitious).
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