A person, historically often a child, employed to shine or polish shoes and boots for customers.
From 'boot' (footwear) + 'black' (the blacking or polish used to shine boots). The occupation emerged in the 17th-18th centuries as an urban street trade; the compound term solidified in the 19th century.
Bootblacks were such a common sight in Victorian cities that Dickens and other writers featured them constantly in novels. They represented the urban working poor and were often children—a job class that's completely vanished.
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