bootblack en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From boot + black.
Meanings
-
(dated) A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an occupation.
The young negro bootblack hummed "The Camp Meeting Blues" and polished in rhythm to his tune, drawing the shiny shoe-rag so taut at each stroke that it snapped like a banjo string.
1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XXIV, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| bootblacks | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| boot-black | alternative | lexicographic |